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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



SERMONS 



AND 



REMINISCENCES 



BY 



REV. RICHARD L. STILWELL, 



Of the Central New York Conference. 




NEW YORK • 

PHILLIPS & HUNT. 

CINCINNATI : 

WALDEN & STOWE. 

1883. 



THE LIBRARY 
OF CONORBSt 

WASMINOTOM 






Copyright, 1883, by 
PHILLIPS & HUNT, 

New York. 



DED ICATORY. 



To the few surviving friends on the Troy District, East Genesee 
Conference, and their offspring, whom I learned to love in their in- 
fancy and youth during a pastorate of twenty-one years on nine 
charges * within its bounds ; and 

To all, both of the laity and of the ministry, in whose friendships, 
prayers, and counsels I have shared amid peculiar trials, responsibil- 
ities, and triumphs, I do most cordially, earnestly, and prayerfully 
dedicate this volume, which is a part of the outgrowth of forty-one 
years in the itinerancy of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

R. L. Stilwell. 
M'Lean, N. Y., Sept. 15, 1883. 

* Canton, 2 ; Jackson, 3 ; Pine River Mission, 1 ; Mansfield, 3 ; Ulster and 
Smithfleld, 2 ; Knoxville and Chatham, 2 ; East Charleston, 2 ; Burlington, 2 ; 
Liberty Corners and Monroeton, 4. — 21. 



On the 20th of June we were again at Milo Center, and had the op- 
portunity of addressing fine congregations in their reconstructed and 
commodious house of worship. . . . The Church, under the pastoral 
care of Rev. R. L. Stilwell, has been favored with a revival during the 
past winter and spring, the result of which is quite an addition to the 
membership. Among these are some heads of families in middle life 
who are ready for any service, and also many young people on whom 
the responsibilities of the Church must rest in coming years. 

Brother Stilwell is almost a stranger in the northern part of the 
work, and we take occasion to say, what would be entirely superfluous 
where he is well known, namely, that he is one of the best preachers 
in the Conference. He is not such by the accident of genius, but by 
hard, persistent work in the appropriate duties of the ministry. He 
is one of a few who have profited by changing their course in mid-life 
from oral to exclusively written sermons. From others, not from 
himself, we learn that he has a volume of sermons ready for the press, 
and that an arrangement is in progress for their publication. That 
they will be creditable to him and useful to the public we are very 
confident. — Extract from a published article by the influential ana 
widely known Rev. William Hosmer, D.D., for many years an able min- 
ister and editor in Central New York — inserted in this volume without 
the knowledge of Mr. Stilwell. 



INTBODUCTOKY. 



IN the year 1840, the undersigned became acquainted with 
the esteemed author of these Sermons and Reminiscences. 
We first met as classmates at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, 
Lima, N. Y., and soon after entered into that more intimate rela- 
tion of roommates. In this relation acquaintance early ripened 
into friendship, a friendship which deepened as the months 
came and went, and which has not lessened during the varied 
activities and the more numerous cares and responsibilities 
which have been crowded into the life of each. He was a 
young man of pleasing presence, pure speech, sweet spirit, 
tender sympathies, devout life, and true as steel. His student 
and church life, while at the Seminary, was an inspiration and 
a benediction to his associates and friends. 

Richard Lounsbury Stilwell was born in Hector, Tompkins 
Co., N. Y., Jan. 27, 1819. Though dependent for his subsist- 
ence upon his own labors from the age of fourteen, he found 
time for intellectual culture, devoting his snatches of leisure 
time to study, and at the age of nineteen was in charge of a 
large school in the town of Washington, Erie County, Pa., and, 
later, of one in Jackson, Pa. In the latter place he united with 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 1838, and a year later was 
licensed to "exhort" by Rev. Matthew Hanna. He was li- 
censed to preach June 22, 1842, by the Quarterly Conference 
of Southport and Jackson Circuit, then under the pastoral su- 
pervision of Rev. E. Colson, with Rev. Jonas Dodge as presid- 
ing elder. On August 6, of the same year, he was relicensed to 
preach by the Lawrenceville Quarterly Conference, (Rev. Will- 
iam R. Babcock, presiding elder,) and recommended as hav- 
ing "gifts, grace, and usefulness" to the Genesee Conference 
for admission on trial. He was promptly received, and was 
sent for his first itinerant ministerial and pastoral service to 
Canton, Pa., where he remained two years. 



6 Introductory. 

At the close of his full pastoral term at Canton, young Stil- 
well successfully passed his examinations, and was elected to 
deacon's orders, but, owing to great diffidence, he asked to be 
permitted to remain on probation for a third year, and his re- 
quest was granted. At the Buffalo Conference, August 24, 
1845, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Janes, and admitted 
to full Conference membership; and two years later, at the ses- 
sion in Geneva, he was ordained elder by Bishop Morris. His 
fields of labor have been as follows : 

Canton, Pa., two years; Jackson, three; Pine River Mission, 
one; Urbana, two; Hector, N. Y., three; Ulster and Smithfield, 
Pa., two; Knoxville, two; Mansfield, three; East Charleston, 
two; Burlington, two; Liberty Corners and Monroeton, four; 
Harmony ville, N. Y., one; Milo Center, two; Chemung, two; 
M'Grawville, one; Preble, one; Erin and Breedsport, two; 
Varna and Etna, one ; Sheldrake, two ; Dresden, one ; M'Lean, 
(his present charge,) two; — a total continuous effective itin- 
erant ministerial record, thus far, of forty-one years, during 
which he has received into the Church nearly a thousand per- 
sons, in whose memory, as well as in the memory of a multi- 
tude of others to whom he has ministered in his varied pas- 
toral relations, he is permanently enshrined. 

As our friend is still enjoying excellent health — apparently 
having a delightful evening time of life, in the midst of happy 
home associations, and enjoying the esteem and love of an 
ever- widening circle of friends — as well as still doing vigorous 
service in his lengthened and useful ministry, it is too early for 
a memorial address, or for any other words of merited eulogy. 

It is well that this volume is given to the public. The au- 
thor is doing a real service by yielding assent to the sugges- 
tions of his former parishioners and friends,* and devoting the 
care necessary to place in more permanent form these "Ser- 
mons and Reminiscences." They will be read and re-read with 
ever-recurring interest, by the many to whom he so kindly 
and affectionately refers in his fitting and touching dedicatory 
address. W. H. De Puy. 

Methodist Book Concern, New York, Sept. 20, 1S83. 

* See "Extract,'' page 4. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

The Great Question 9 

How to Inherit All Things 22 

Relative Duties of the Church and Ministry 32 

God our Father 45 

Acquaintance "with God 56 

Right Direction of the Heart 66 

The Mission of the Church and Ministry 75 

Necessity of Revivals 86 

Resurrection of Dorcas 99 

Brethren Commended to God 108 

"Who have Great Peace 118 

What is His Will ? 126 

He is the Rock, His Work is Perfect 134 

Christ's Ministers 150 

Past and Present State of Believers 161 

Necessity of the New Birth 168 

Christ Died for Us 177 

The Lost Saved 186 

Religious Principle Gradually Developed 197 

Grace Should Not be Received in Vain 203 

The Mind of Christ 208 

Spiritual Grafting 219 

God's Word a Mirror 229 

The Coming Revelation 240 

Children's Day Address 248 



8 Contents. 

PAGE 

Sermon "Writing and Sermon Reading 261 

Be Not Deceived 266 

Why Hope Maketh Not Ashamed 268 

Less than the Least of All Saints 271 

No Peace 272 

Farewell Remarks of a Pastor 274 

Job's Knowledge of his Redeemer 276 

As Far as Jamestown 278 

A Conference Reminiscence 280 

Stool-pigeons Extraordinary 281 

Pleasantries and Wit 283 

Quacks and Regulars 285 

Rev. John Parker 287 

History of a Week 290 

A Response 294 

Littles, and to What Do They Grow 298 

A Pastor's Reminiscence 301 

Uncle Peter and Aunt Patty , 303 

Methodist Parsonages and Beautiful Homes 306 



SEEMONS AND KEMINISCENCES. 



THE GREAT QUESTION. 

" Sirs, what must I do to be saved ? " — Acts xvi, 30. 

THE solution of important questions requires supe- 
rior intelligence; and, as we can scarcely con- 
ceive of another of equal importance with that which 
we have read as our text, we enter upon its discussion 
with feelings best indicated by the solemn inquiry, 
"Who is sufficient for these things?" Before we 
seek to answer the great question, "What must I do 
to be saved?" you will allow us to dwell on a few 
thoughts suggested by it. And 

1. To be saved is a matter of the greatest moment. 
" To be saved ! " Where in the vocabulary of men 
can be found other three words freighted with such 
significance and suggestive power? The soul's con- 
ceptions of woe and its ability to endure, its concep- 
tions of bliss and its capacity to enjoy, must all be 
known before the mind can fathom their whole im- 
port. Indeed, a soul must first be lost forever, and 
then be saved forever, to be able to form a just esti- 
mate of what there is in salvation. Go ask a sinner 
whose probation is narrowed down to a moment's 



10 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

space, and he will try to tell you of its importance, 
and of the high value he would place on it if it were 
his. Those quivering lips, those tearful eyes, and 
oft-repeated prayers, and sighs and groans all "elo- 
quent of woe," are but faint indications of the ordeal 
through which the soul is passing because it is not 
saved. Saved ! how great would be the contrast ? 
Those lips would warble praise to God. Those eyes 
would trace the record of some gracious promise 
given to cheer and nerve the soul, and those prayers 
would be a rich spiritual legacy to sorrowing friends ; 
wdiile, instead of sighs and groans, sweet rapturous 
songs of victory would indicate the freeing of the 
imprisoned spirit, and her readiness to mingle in the 
anthem of the upper choir, the blended melodies of 
the redeemed. 

" To be saved " is a matter of greatest moment by 
reason of the fact that society is made up of indi- 
viduals, and, like the human body, is affected favor- 
ably or otherwise by the health or the want of health 
of every member. Pious men and women are essen- 
tial ; nay, in the order of G od, they are indispensable 
to the preservation and salvation of the wicked and 
the impious. Hence the genuine conversion of a 
single individual in a community is a Godsend to it. 
The farmer may regard the falling of a few drops of 
rain as a very insignificant affair, when his hopes of 
an abundant harvest are being blasted by reason of 



The Great Question. 11 

the absence of a refreshing shower, but drops are 
essential to every shower. The saving element exist- 
ing in the Church, in her organic form, should and 
does exist in every one of her living, healthful mem- 
bers, and every one of these is laboring in some way 
to bring souls to Jesus. 

In some sense men are saved by men; for God 
works by means, choosing the weak things of the 
world to confound the wise, and hiding the treasures 
of his grace "in earthen vessels, that the excellency 
of the power may be of God, and not of " man. As 
all the elements of light are comprised in a single 
ray, and of water in a single drop, so every subject cf 
saving grace should reflect the light divine, that 
others may be induced to glorify " our Father which 
art in heaven." A single lamp may not only afford 
sufficient light for the one who bears it, but it may 
be of important service to others who would go in 
the same direction. Thus it is with Christians. They 
should esteem salvation not only for the personal 
comfort and safety which it affords, but also for the 
good it enables them to do to others. In God's spir- 
itual economy "no man liveth unto himself." Chris- 
tianity forbids his doing so ; the claims of society are 
against it; while the example of Jesus and of his 
apostles should shame even a desire to do so, back 
and down to hell. Indeed, no man can live wholly 
unto himself, for if he will not "live unto him who 



12 Sermons axd Reminiscences. 

died and rose again," lie shall be " led captive by the 
devil at his will." One motive which, with others, 
should move you to seek " to be saved," is that drawn 
from the claims of society. Do yon say society is 
corrupt '( ^Te admit it ; and aver that you have aided 
in making it so, and that you can make satisfactory 
reparation in no other way than by your casting into 
society, from henceforth, the leaven of a holy life. 
Do you demur and say, I owe society nothing, for it 
has corrupted me, and if I have corrupted that, I 
have only done as I was done unto? Well, that is 
somewhat plausible, I must admit; but you will 
please bear with me if I try to penetrate a little here. 
A company of men unite and steal your horse, or suc- 
ceed in slandering you ; if you, in return, steal some 
one's horse, or slander him, all is square. This is the 
logic, or rather the rope-of-sand argument, by your- 
selves constructed, to tie you to yourselves. Ah, it 
will not, cannot hold you there. You must needs be 
profoundly ashamed of yourselves if it could. The 
truth is, that the salvation of society is linked with 
the salvation of individuals, and you are to seek to 
be saved with especial reference to this principle. 
Many, it is to be feared, whose names are enrolled 
with the people of God, are deceived and deceiving 
at this very point. Their religion has become so ex- 
clusively their own, it is so sacred a thing to self, that 
they are afraid to speak of it above a whisper in the 



The Great Question. 13 

conference or the class-meeting, and would deplore 
its loss as certain should they trust it out into a social 
prayer-meeting. O that such could be induced to go 
forth in the spirit of the Saviour, and learn how to 
bless themselves by blessing others. 

2. Another thought suggested by the text is : The 
salvation of men is attended with difficulties. These, 
however, are not found in the mind nor in the will 
of God, but in man himself, in society, and in satanic 
influence. The heart of man is deceitful and per- 
verse, and selfishness is enthroned in it. This is 
the result of sin, and its subjects are so stultified by 
it, as to their own spiritual state, that they think 
themselves to be rich and increased in goods, and 
as having need of nothing, when in truth they arfc 
"wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and 
naked." They look on their sins as trifles, and seem 
to see no necessity of their being washed away. 
They think that they are about as good as others, 
and that they need not be concerned if others are 
not. Thus it is that some of the most vile and cor- 
rupt men have come to think they were doing God 
service, when, in reality, they were doing the very 
meanest work of the devil. Saul, of Tarsus, was of 
this class, and will be remembered as constituting an 
illustrious example. 

Another difficulty in the way of individual salva- 
tion is found in society. Men, as social beings, are 



14 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

necessarily affected by social influences. Hence, 
many who have been made to feel that they were 
sinners, and as such that they were in very great 
need of salvation, have found that they have lacked 
the moral courage to break away from the unholy 
influence of habitual associations. The gambler has 
quailed at the thought of what his associates would 
think and say should he even attempt reformation. 
The drunkard, alarmed in his sober moments, has en- 
countered, in vision at least, the taunts and ridicule 
of brother sots, and has turned away from weeping, 
pleading family and friends, and even from interced- 
ing Jesus, to drown conviction in the flowing bowl. 
Indeed, it is no marvel that "the righteous scarcely 
are saved " in the midst of so much social corruption 
as is found in this sinning world of ours. We appeal 
to the unconverted here, this hour, and ask if you 
have not been influenced to your spiritual harm by 
the almost omnipotent control of others ? What will 
friends think? What will they say? In short, in 
what esteem will I be held by them ? Have not such 
or similar thoughts caused you to vacillate, unnerved 
your hearts, caused you to shrink from duty, and 
prevented your enlisting in a hearty and persevering 
effort "to be saved?" If so, please remember that 
it is from the midst of such social influences and hin- 
derances that our Jesus is gathering the jewels with 
which to bedeck his crown. "Be not faithless," then, 



The Great Question. 15 

"but believing." What has been possible to others 
is possible to you also. 

There is one more fact in the way of personal 
salvation, and that is satanic influence. This reached 
the Son of God. He was "tempted of the devil," 
yet he was " without sin." There is, therefore, hope 
for those who are now tempted. Thus reasons an 
apostle : Christ " being tempted, he is able to succor 
them that are tempted." Be not disheartened, then, 
for " the Lion of the tribe of Judah " will give you 
strength to resist temptation ; and what others have 
done in this regard, you may do also. Yield not to 
despair, then, for the triumph of others may yet be 
yours. Enlist in an earnest warfare against these 
difficulties, and an Almighty arm shall bear you on 
to victory? Commit yourselves fully to the work, 
and an energy, heaven-inspired, shall make you feel 
that you are well able to go up and possess the good- 
ly land unhurt of your enemies by the way; for our 
text suggests, 

3. That personal salvation requires personal effort. 
Yet this and only this, though commenced as soon as 
the first sin was committed, and continued for a life- 
time, could never so avail as to secure the salvation 
of any soul. As a single fountain is not sufficient to 
make the majestic river, though possessing the ele- 
ments of that larger flood, so personal effort of itself 
is not sufficient to bear the soul beyond threatened 



16 Sermons and Reminiscences 

ruin, or to elevate it to lieaven and to God. Still 
without this there is absolutely no hope for any who 
have sinned. The fact of a Saviour's love may be 
attested by miracles wrought on human bodies and 
human souls ; heaven may roll down on the sinner's 
ear the chorus of its eternal song; hell may send 
forth its ceaseless, warning wail ; the ministry may 
explain and urge " the glorious Gospel of Christ ;" 
the Spirit may woo and strive ; pious friends may 
weep over and blessingly entreat ; but unless the sin- 
ner himself acts as God has willed that he should, 
there is no hope and no salvation for him. 

Is the inquiry still, " What must I do to be saved ? " 
Thank God,. the answer is at hand : " Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Be- 
lieving on the Lord Jesus Christ holds the same rela- 
tion to faith in him that supplication holds to prayer. 
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a simple act, be- 
lieving on him is that act continued. Saving faith is 
that act of the mind by which Jesus is accepted as 
the soul's Saviour. Believing on him is a continuous 
reliance on him for every needed blessing. Hence 
the salvation promised to those who believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ is put in the future tense, " shalt 
be saved." Salvation succeeds, and not as some teach, 
precedes belief in him. Faith looks out upon Cal- 
vary — the cross — the bleeding Jesus there. Belief 
runs with the polluted soul in her arms, and holds it 



The Great Question. 17 

up to catch the healing stream, and to bind it to the 
cross. Thus bound I seem to hear her singing : 

" Could my tears forever flow, 
Could my zeal no languor know, 
These for sin could not atone ; 
Thou must save, and thou alone : 
In my hand no price I bring ; 
Simply to thy cross I cling." 

Then, with the look of greatest, sweetest comfort 
and satisfaction, I hear her soliloquizing thus : 

" Forever here my rest shall be, 

Close to thy bleeding side ; 
This all my hope, and all my plea, 
"For me the Saviour died.' " 

Sinner ! " believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved." He is able and he is willing 
to save you. Only in him is merit, all availing and 
communicable. Our faith resting on any other being 
could never bring a saving energy to our hearts, or 
our believing continue it there ; for however strong 
faith is, it cannot draw merit out of that which has 
no merit in itself. Many have very strongly be- 
lieved that if they were to be saved they would be 
saved ; but such believing has never resulted in the 
salvation of any soul, and never will. Others have 
very largely believed in the salvation of all souls, but 
so far as I have been able to learn, not one of these 

have been at all remarkably distinguished for their 
2 



18 Sekmons and Reminiscences. 

love and obedience to God. And many, O how 
many, have believed in the infallibility of the Pope, 
and the remission of sins by priestly interposition 
and prerogative ; but, after all, they think a flaming 
purgatory lies between the very best of them and 
heaven. Indeed, believing in any other being or 
thins: in the universe cannot result in the salvation 
of any soul. Said the Saviour to the Jews, " Ye be- 
lieve in God, believe also in me." The first is im- 
portant, the latter not less so. It is as if he had said, 
" God is your Creator, this you believe. He is your 
Redeemer, believe this also." 

The truly awakened sinner sees himself in need of 
an almighty Saviour. The Bible introduces him to 
One on whose vesture and thigh is written, " King 
of kings and Lord of lords," and it declares him to 
be able to save even to the uttermost all that come 
unto God by him. He must, therefore, be almighty ; 
and if so, he must be God, as the idea of two distinct 
almighty beings existing at the same time must be 
too absurd to be entertained for a moment. Arians 
have evidently made a discovery. To avoid the con- 
clusion just mentioned, they teach that man is not 
totally depraved, for if so depraved, an almighty Sav- 
iour is needed, but if not so depraved, a very good man 
may afford help sufficient ; if not, a super-angelic 
being can. The assistance of a small lad may be all 
that is necessary to save the life of him, who, 



The Great Question. 19 

wrecked in the sea, has had skill and strength suf- 
ficient to very nearly reach the shore, but it requires 
the strength and wisdom of a man to plunge beneath 
the wave, descend to the bottom, search out the mo- 
tionless body, grasp it, and bear it up and on to 
where life may be restored. So in a spiritual sense. 
If man is not very much depraved, he needs but lit- 
tle help, it may be only an Arian Saviour ; but if to- 
tally depraved, he needs help that is mighty, a Sav- 
iour who is Christ the Jehovah. Surely, great sin- 
ners need a great Saviour, and as the Bible knows 
nothing of small sinners, it is safe to conclude that a 
little Saviour was never provided. As in nature so 
in grace, there is wonderful adaptation. Prodigious 
forests are well suited to huge beasts, mighty seas 
to ponderous whales and to " Great Easterns ;" and, 
blessed be God ! a great Saviour to great sinners. 
However appalling, withering, and crushing be the 
views we may be compelled to entertain respecting 
our personal guiltiness, they cannot exceed those we 
are authorized to hold respecting him who has " come 
to seek and to save that which was lost." What 
ridiculous folly it would be for a man to purchase a 
huge elephant to draw his little son in a hand car- 
riage through the streets, when youthful friends of 
the lad were fully competent and really anxious to 
perform that service for him ? Judge ye, then, of the 
character of the act which provides for sinners that 



20 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

are almost saints a Saviour of such dignity and glory- 
as the Lord Jesus Christ. 

" Only Jesus, only Jesus, 

Can do helpless sinners good," 

but believing in him, the soul is as positively ad- 
vancing in the way to heaven as is the body in the 
act of walking from its residence to the house of 
God. How simple is the condition of salvation! 
How easy of apprehension! You are glad, and so 
am I, that believing in Calvinism or in Universalism, 
in Arminianism or Eoman Catholicism, in sprink- 
ling, pouring, or immersion, as the only mode of 
Christian baptism, was never made the condition of 
salvation ; but that as all men have to depend on the 
sun for light, so all are required to believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ " to be saved," and that to behold 
the sun men must turn their eyes toward it, so " to 
be saved " they must " look unto Jesus." It would 
be a beautiful sceue in an angel's vision to behold 
the eyes of all men turning eastward, in early morn- 
ing, to get a view of the rising king of day ; but such 
a scene would pale and melt away in the presence of 
one brought to birth by all sinners lifting up and 
sending forth bolieving prayer to the world's Re- 
deemer, " the King of glory ! " Blessed be God ! 
The sun in the heavens is no more competent to 
afford all eyes with light than is the Lord Jesus 



The Gkeat Question. 21 

Christ to save all who will believe their way to him. 
In him " all fullness dwells," and 

" Plenteous grace with thee is found, 
Grace to cover all my sin." 

As a few lamps would be utterly insufficient to 
furnish light for the world in the absence of the sun, 
so any thing but an almighty Saviour and an active 
faith in him must leave the souls of men in endless 
despair. Such a Saviour is offered to you, and of- 
fered now. Freely as the blessed sunlight, his grace, 
which bringeth salvation, falls upon you. In tones 
sweeter than the music of angels, Jesus, by the Gos- 
pel, invites you. Only believe on him, " and thou 
shalt be saved," a consciousness of which shall give 
you a heart of joy and fill your souls with heavenly 
comfort. 

" Believe in him who died for thee, 

And, sure as he hath died, 
Thy debt is paid, thy soul is free, 

And thou art justified." 



22 Sermons and Bemlntscences. 



HOW TO INHERIT ALL THINGS. 

" He that overconieth shall inherit all things ; and I will be his God, 
and he shall be my son." — Rev. xxi, 7. 

¥E live in the midst of antagonisms — of opposing 
forces. Good and evil, holiness and sin, God 
and Satan, are striving for the mastery. Man, in his 
exaltation and happiness, is sought by the former; 
man, in his degradation and misery, is the objective 
point and end of the latter. Man, therefore, is not 
an idle and uninterested spectator ; nor can he be a 
mere passive subject of these influences and forces. 
Endowed with reason and volition, he is capable of 
being moved by motives. Inheriting the desire for 
happiness, he cannot be wholly indifferent to the only 
rational plan by which he can secure it ; and thirst- 
ing for honor and glory, he may hear and heed the 
announcement, " He that overcometh shall inherit all 
things ; and I will be his God, and he shall be my 
son." Let us then consider what is to be overcome, 
the helps afforded, and the good promised to the suc- 
cessful. 

1. What is to be overcome ? We answer : The 
motions of sin within us. By these we mean the 
sinful thought, feelings, and principles which exhibit 



How to Inherit All Things. 23 

themselves in our words, our actions, and our lives. 
That is in what constitutes us sinners. Sinful 
thought is the seed from which wicked feelings, 
words, aud actions grow ; therefore the first great 
work in every Christian's life is to be the prevention 
of his sinful thoughts. But the question may arise, 
" How am I to determine what are sinful thoughts ? " 
We answer: Sinful thoughts excite sinful feelings, 
and as such feelings always suggest sinful words and 
actions, it must be easy from the very tendency of 
our thoughts to decide as to their character. A man 
may not always speak or act just as he feels, but he 
will find it impossible to feel as he does not think. 
The relation of thought to feeling is most intimate 
and inseparable. As pious thought is the operative 
force in the moral world, by which it is to be pre- 
pared for the millennial glory, so depraved and sinful 
thought is the grand agent, under Satan, by which 
souls are prepared to utter the wailings of the 
lost. As a man " thinketh in his heart, so is he." 
Our thoughts of God, of the Bible, and of moral 
obligation have much, O how very much, to do with 
our lives, our character, and our destiny. All sin, as 
well as all holiness, in men has its beginning in their 
thoughts. Hence there is nothing in us or of us that 
we should watch with a severer scrutiny than our 
thoughts. They are indices which point toward hell 
or heaven. If we cannot think wrong of a fellow- 



24 Sermons and Reminiscences 

being without feeling wrong toward him ; and if we 
cannot feel wrong without speaking or acting wrong 
respecting him, with what force must the fact that 
we think wrong of God come to our souls, and fasten 
upon them alarming guilt ! This is the charge which 
Jehovah brings against man, " Thou thoughtest that 
I was altogether such a one as thyself." Now, who 
are they who speak against God, contemn his good- 
ness, trample on his mercies, reject his Son, and 
grieve his Spirit ? Who but those that have learned 
to think of him as men never ought to think, and 
who consequently feel toward him as men should 
never feel. But our thoughts are not only an index 
to our feelings and conduct toward God, they also 
demonstrate our likes and dislikes to the things of 
God. Who seldom, or carelessly, read the Bible ? 
They are those, without an exception, who have 
learned to think wrong of that most important book. 
"Who are they that neglect to hear the Gospel, to at- 
tend to its ordinances, and who habitually absent 
themselves from the prayer-meeting ? Are they not 
invariably those whose moral sense has become per- 
verted, and whose thoughts are wrong respecting 
moral obligation? Compare the thoughts of these 
persons with the preceptive teachings of the word of 
God, or with the lessons written by the Spirit on " all 
truly awakened hearts," and you will not fail to see 
the wonderful contrast. 



How to Inheeit All Things. 25 

The Gospel of Jesus is an interior working force, 
proposing to make the life right by first making the 
heart right, to bring the thoughts of men "to the 
obedience of Christ," that our feelings, words, and 
actions may chime a divine harmony to his glorious 
grace. It is in the thoughts of men that Satan sows 
his tares, which choke and overtop the wheat of the 
Gospel, and which, if not overcome, will ultimately 
leave the soul without a plant of righteousness. 
Right here it is that so many who have started out in 
the Christian life have been turned aside, and have 
lost sight of the heaven which they sought, the home and 
the rest for which they sighed. They have allowed 
their thoughts to linger on forbidden subjects, and to 
read in works of fiction, until ideas and images of the 
unreal and the false have filled the halls of memory, 
and cast a deadly blight on all the graces of the 
Spirit. I fear for that young Christian, however 
clear and powerful has been his religious experience, 
who allows himself in dissipating thoughts, preferring 
the company of the gay and trifling, not to say the 
vulgar and obscene, to an hour in the prayer-meeting 
with the people of God. I am alarmed for those 
who would rather spend an evening with a novel, 
though written by a noted minister, than with the 
Book of Books, containing the thoughts of God. 
"How precious are thy thoughts unto me," said 
the psalmist. He also said, " I thought on my 



26 Sekhons and Reminiscences. 

ways, and turned my feet unto- thy testimonies." 
May we all do likewise, and find the blessing which 
came to him ! 

2. Again " onr ways " or habits of life, so far as 
they fail to conform to the requirements of the 
Gospel, are to be overcome. The Gospel no more 
than the law gives us license to sin. And yet, how 
many professedly Christian people there are, who 
murmur, fret, and find fault with providential allot- 
ments, until the disease becomes chronic, and embit- 
ters all their lives. How many religiously inclined 
children have become discouraged by the peevishness 
and fretfulness of such parents. A scold is a curse 
to any household. I pity the young Christian whose 
home example and influence is not attractive, impress- 
ive, and encouraging. I have known such to wan- 
der away from duty and from God, and I have been 
made to weep in spirit, as I have learned that a pro- 
fessedly Christian father or mother had treated them 
unkindly or unjustly, not, it may be, intentionally or 
of malice, but by a simple yet sinful indulgence in 
the use of language which has pierced and grieved 
their tender spirits. As a Christian father as well as 
a Christian minister I do here and now express my 
unqualified protest against those " evil ways " of par- 
ents; beseeching all such by the love they have for 
the well-being of their own souls, and the souls of 
those God has intrusted to their care, to be prayer- 



How to Inherit All Things. 27 

fully cautious of their example and influence over 
them. Parents ! in a very important sense, we are to 
live again in the lives of our children. Many of our 
thoughts and words and actions are to be duplicated. 
"With what force shall the thoughts come home to the 
hearts of real Christian's children, as they shall open 
the Bible, "This is the book our parents used to 
read ; " or as they shall go into the house of the Lord, 
ft Here is the place where father and mother used to 
sit and hear and sing and pray ; " and when they 
shall hear the Lord's people speaking of his good- 
ness, they shall call to mind the fact that father and 
mother used to do so too. Parents ! shall it be thus 
that our children shall think of us, and what we did 
while here? Or shall they be compelled to think 
whenever they see the Bible, " That is the book 
father and mother seldom read;" as they spend their 
Sabbaths in visiting, " Father and mother used to do 
just so ; " as they shall be asked to contribute to the 
Bible, Missionary, Tract, or Sunday-school cause, 
"Father never thought them worthy of support, 
and I will not support them." Whatever Christian 
parents would desire their children to become, they 
must strive to be. Whatever they see will be neces- 
sary for their children to overcome in order to be 
perfect Christians, they should overcome, that their 
children may have the encouragement of their ex- 
ample. If, then, our sinful thoughts and ways are to 



28 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

be overcome we have enough to do. Yet let us 
not be discouraged, for there are abundant helps af- 
forded. God calls no man to this warfare at his 
own charges. All the duties which the Gospel en- 
joins presupposes a gracious ability on the part of 
man to perform them. All who do really overcome, 
do so through faith and "the blood of the Lamb." 
" Christ strengthening us," we " can do all things," 
important or necessary. Now as wrong and wicked* 
thoughts have very much to do in making us sinners, 
so right and pure thoughts have much to do in mak- 
ing us Christians. "We must think right of the helps 
afforded us to overcome, or we shall not appreciate 
them to this purpose. Some think the death of 
Christ was only intended to manifest the love of 
God. It does this, and vastly more. It proclaims 
his hatred of sin, and that "without shedding of 
blood is no remission" of sin. It opens a door 
of hope to a world of captives groaning under the 
servitude of Satan, and furnishes them with ample 
means for their escape into the glorious "liberty of 
the sons of God." It brings to man, in his blindness, 
the revelations of an infinite Spirit ; in his weakness, 
the help of one who is mighty; and, in his sin and 
pollution, the cheering assurance, "If any man sin, 
we have an advocate with the Father." It makes a 
throne of grace accessible, and brings to our hearts 
an influence which inclines us to come boldly to it, 



How to Inherit All Things. 29 

" that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in 
time of need." We may therefore hope to overcome. 
Timorous, feeble, trembling one ! are you here to- 
day? Think of the garden and of the cross, and of 
the God-man there ! Think of him in his agony, his 
death, and resurrection. Think of him in his inter- 
cessions, his occupancy of the mediatorial throne, and 
in the travail of his soul for the final and full salva- 
tion of the lost ! 

Think of Jesus and dismiss your doubts and fears, 
and let your trembling cease. Remember that Jesus, 
in conquering his enemies, conquered for Christians 
also; and that it is an apprehension of this great 
truth which shall enable you to triumph gloriously. 
Would Christians, as often as they feel sin in their 
hearts, or discover it in their thoughts and actions, 
say, " I am set to overcome it ; I must, I will, I shall, 
obtain the victory over it." How God would help 
them ! How the Holy Spirit would comfort them ! 
and how strong would they soon become! Dear 
brethren, how long shall we allow ourselves to be 
brought into bondage, while a mightier than our foe 
is ready to hide us in his pavilion ? How often shall 
we lament our weakness when we might be 

" Strong in tlie strength which G-od supplies 
Through his eternal Son." 

Brethren! how many shall utterly perish for the 
want of a full-grown Christian manhood, to take 



30 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

hold of them and bear them to Jesus ? May God 
save us from being ashamed to ask for help, while 
we so much need it, and breathe into our souls the 
spirit of Christian heroism ! O, let us on to the bat- 
tle against all sin ! The voice of God summons to 
the conflict ! Heeding it as we may and should, the 
issue is no longer doubtful, we shall at last " over- 
come!" And what then? "He that overcometh 
shall inherit all things ; and I will be his God, and he 
shall be my son." Let us therefore briefly consider, 

3. The good promised to the successful. This shall 
consist in (1) the inheritance of all things. But 
how is that or such a thing possible? "We will try 
to make it plain to you. In taking my place at the 
top of the observatory on Mount Hope, the city of 
Rochester, including its numerous churches, its many 
costly buildings and palatial residences, was clearly 
seen by each and enjoyed by all. Thus was it in re- 
spect to all the objects of interest in that very inter- 
esting locality. The Brighton and other extensive 
nurseries ; orchardings, corn, and meadow lands ; pas- 
tures, with flocks in them, grazing in peace and loveli- 
ness ; the river, margined on the west by the railway, 
and on the east by shrubbery of richest foliage; the 
falls, from the foot of which the waters of the Gen- 
esee gently glide into the broad Ontario ; and even a 
portion of that inland ocean, with its heaving bosom 
and its snow-white sails, was seen and enjoyed by all. 



How to Inherit All Things 31 

Take another illustration : The sunlight. It is free, 
and is as abundant for you and me as if ours were the 
only eyes to be illuminated by it. "Were there a bill- 
ion of eyes where there is now but one, I should still 
have all the light I needed, or could use ; and a thing 
of beauty and of joy to me might be the same to all 
other beholders. Thus, though there be "an innu- 
merable company" who shall overcome, yet each 
"shall inherit all things." But (2) the relation that 
Christ shall hold to them, and they to him, shall be 
the chief good which shall come to them. " I will be 
his God, and he shall be my son." Some self-styled 
Christians in this world are reluctant, nay, utterly re- 
fuse, to own Christ to be their God ; but should any 
of them be so fortunate as to " overcome " and get to 
heaven, they will be right glad to acknowledge him 
to be such there. I once thought of him only as a 
man, but it was not until I had learned to think of 
him as "God manifest in the flesh" that I could trust 
my soul to his care and guidance. " And he shall be 
my son." "And if a son," says the apostle, "then an 
heir." Heirship depends on sonship. Only sons of 
God can be heirs of God, " and inherit all things." 
If a son of God, I shall not only be honorably con- 
nected, but I shall be incalculably rich and powerful 
and happy for ever and ever. 



32 Sermons and Reminiscences. 



RELATIVE DUTIES OF THE CHURCH AND MINISTRY. 

"Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with you without 
fear : for he worketh the work of the Lord." — 1 Cor. xvi, 10. 

THE institution of the Church and of the ministry- 
are of divine appointment. In their harmonious 
co-operation they are a moral power in the earth, and 
were intended to be. Each has relative duties. The 
ministry has claims upon the Church, while the world 
has claims upon both. If the Church disregard her 
obligations to the ministry, or the ministry neglect 
its obligations to the Church, the well-being of the 
world, which they are both bound to promote, must 
necessarily suffer, and the loss and ruin of souls must 
be the terrible result. Hence, the study of their 
relative duties — a knowledge of their respective 
obligations — must conspire to render efficient their 
combinedly benevolent efforts for the salvation of 
the race. 

Let us, then, first consider the relative duties of 
the ministry. 

1. It is the duty of the ministry to " preach the 
word ;" that is, to enunciate truth, to proclaim Jesus. 
To do this ministers are not at liberty to consult 
their own ease, or their own worldly advantage, 



Relative Duties of Chitech and Ministry. 33 

but are to give themselves so much, so f ally, to the 
work, that wherever God in his providence may as- 
sign them fields of labor, they will be ready and will- 
ing to go. Christ's ministers never say, "I must 
preach to a people of my own choosing, or I will not 
preach at all." They rather say, because they feel, 
"Necessity is laid upon me, and I consider it a great 
honor to preach such a Gospel to any people." If 
those to whom they "come " are not what they could 
desire them to be, they know that the grand remedy 
for a wrong is hidden in the Gospel, and that as they 
explore it they will be the better furnished with the 
means to apply the corrections till they shall be per- 
mitted to rejoice in the work of their own hands. 
How frequently has this been the case during the 
history of an itinerant ministry % I remember, for it 
was but a few years ago, of going to a charge 
whence the brother who preceded me had been re- 
moved at the close of his first year. The people 
whom he had served that year loved him and he 
loved them. They had labored together in harmony 
and quiet, and a large number had been converted. 
But the providence of God seemed to indicate that 
he should go to the old Burlington Charge. At first 
he was reluctant, nay almost determined not to go. 
I remember hearing him tell how little he thought of 
the judgment of those who had acted in the matter, 

as also of saying to the good brother, " Go and do 
3 



34 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

your duty, and at the close of one year you will wish 
to stay another, the people will wish you to stay, and 
the result will be God will greatly bless you, and 
make you an instrument of great good to that peo- 
ple." He went to the charge, was returned the sec- 
ond year, was instrumental in erecting one of the 
best churches in northern Pennsylvania, and was per- 
mitted to witness a powerful work of grace among 
the people. Six years after he left Burlington we 
were appointed there, and, during the two years of 
our stay there, the remark was made by many, " You 
are the only minister who has called on us since 
Brother Nichols was on the charge." God bless him 
and his earnest labors for ever and ever ! 

2. It is the duty of the ministry to give the Church 
a good example. In 1 Tim. iv, 12 their dnty in this 
regard is very clearly expressed : " But be thou an 
example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in 
charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." " O my soul ! " 
" Who is sufficient for these things ? " To be an ex- 
ample " in word," what study and discretion are nec- 
essary ? To be an example " in conversation," what 
watchfulness and self-possession are demanded ? To 
be an example " in charity," how considerate, how 
mindful of others' infirmities must the minister be ? 
To be an example " in spirit " how rigid must he be 
in the discipline of his own temper ? To be an ex- 
ample " in faith " how frequently must his own be 



Relative Duties of Church and Ministry. 35 

increased and strengthened ? And, to be an exam- 
ple " in purity," how great and constant must be 
his self-denial ! 

" 'Tis not a cause of small import 

The pastor's care demands ; 
But what might fill an angel's heart, 

And filled a Saviour's hands." 

How appropriate is the exhortation of the apostle : 
" Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine ; con- 
tinue in them : for in doing this thou shalt both save 
thyself, and them that hear thee." A sad day will it 
be for the Church when the many of her members, 
like the few already, shall care but little for the men- 
tal or the moral status of her ministry. Her minis- 
try should not only be men of clean hands and of 
pure hearts, but also of vigorous thought, and who 
"study to show themselves approved," and whose 
"profiting shall appear" unto all. The logic of the 
world must be met with the logic of the word of 
God, set on fire by the Holy Ghost ; its philosophy 
must be met with the philosophy of truth, scintillat- 
ing with love for souls, which are ready to perish ; 
its skepticism must be overthrown by living speci- 
mens of a Gospel which " is the power of God unto 
salvation to every one that believeth." And the 
wickedness and the polution of human society must 
be removed by the efforts of minds which have been 
baptized at the cross, having studied both God and 



36 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

man. The general diffusion of knowledge — the mul- 
tiplication of facilities of an educational character, 
and the vast and wonderful improvements in the 
arts, all conspire to the production of a demand for 
mental culture, of profound research, and of intel- 
lectual possessions on the part of the ministry, equal, 
at least, to any class of men in existence. And the 
man or the men in the Church who can be satisfied 
with a ministry barren of thought, but abundant in 
verbosity, can have no appreciable idea of the coun- 
try in which they live, nor of the interests involved 
in its ministrations. 

3. It is the duty of the ministry to serve the 
Church. St. Paul must be good authority in this 
matter. He says, ""We preach not ourselves, but 
Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants 
for Jesus' sake." But the question is raised at this 
point, ""Who is to be the judge as to how the minis- 
try is to serve her ? " Shall the Church say, " You 
must serve us thus and thus, or you shall not serve 
us at all?" or shall the ministry decide the matter 
for itself ? Evidently the ministry, for it is not for 
the sake of the Church, nor for its own sake, that it 
serves her, but for "Christ's sake" that it does it, 
" and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." It is 
his kingdom the ministry is laboring to spread, it 
is his glory that it is trying to promote, and it is 
his powerful, spiritual presence which insures its sue- 



Relative Duties of Church and Ministry. 37 

cess. God made the sun to enlighten our world. It 
is a beneficent arrangement, a wonderful convenience, 
and men so regard it. Now, what would be thought 
of a clique or society of men who should undertake 
to dictate how and when and where the sun should 
shine % Would they not be regarded as being out of 
their place, at least the width of creation ? In what 
esteem, then, must men in the Church be held who 
are ever arrogating to themselves the right to dictate 
to the ministry how and when and where it shall 
serve the Church. The ministry, like the sun, is a 
good thing, a great convenience ; and, as it depends 
on God for direction and for power to do his work, 
and as it is amenable to him for the manner in which 
it is done, the responsibility should be left where 
he has placed it. God made the Church by the 
ministry, and then gave the ministry to the Church 
to serve her. Not all the gifts nor all the qualifica- 
tions of the ministry are found in any one minister, 
but are diffused through the body — the many, and, if 
a desirable gift or qualification be wanting in one, it 
may be found in another. Thus, by the itinerant, or 
original system of supplying the Church, it may have 
the benefit of the service of every gift, of every 
qualification. 

Let us now consider, secondly, the relative duties 
of the Church. These are indicated in the text : 
"Now if Timotheus come, see that he may be with 



38 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

you without fear: for he worketh the work of the 
Lord." 

1. The Church, in a large degree, is responsible 
for an audience for the minister. The novelty may 
secure him a good audience for a few Sabbaths, but 
the continuance of such a one may frequently depend 
on the Church itself. The dislikes of the members 
of the Church, as it respects the matter or the man- 
ner of the minister's pulpit labors, expressed in the 
presence of their children and of their friends, often 
results in keeping them away from the house of 
God, and in preventing the minister doing them any 
good. 

Their frequent absence, also, from his ministrations, 
though they say nothing against him or his labors, 
has a voice which speaks and virtually says to chil- 
dren and friends, " We do not think it worth while 
to go and hear such a minister ;" and the conclusion 
with these is, " "We think so, too, and so we will not 
go to church." "Now," brethren, "if Timotheus 
come, see that he may be with you without fear " of 
not having a good audience so far as your speech and 
example goes. Some ministers will command a good 
audience, though both these are against them ; and I 
would here respectfully ask, Can you safely cut your- 
selves off from the influence of such ministers ? For 
my own part, I should certainly suspect my own taste 
in such a case, and would resolve to help make the 



Relative Duties of Church and Ministry. 39 

audience a good one, till I had learned to love what 
the rest did, and then I would continue as a matter 
of course. 

It is not to be expected that one minister will suit 
or please every body. Because I am not pleased with 
the pastor, it illy becomes me as a member of the 
Church to find fault and stay away from the house 
of God, and thus throw my influence against the pub- 
lic good. A certain member of the Church, in a letter 
to The Christian Advocate^ once said : " It so hap- 
pened that one minister whom I thought the least of, 
of all the ministers who ever preached in our place, 
was made the instrument in the hands of God in the 
conversion of two of my children." He had paid 
that minister as much as he had any other minis- 
ter, had heard him as constantly, and had spoken 
of him as kindly. God only knows how many 
members there are in the Churches of this land who 
have unconverted sons and daughters, chiefly for 
the reason that a different course has been pursued 
by their parents. I fear for such when I think of 
their meeting those children and those ministers at 
the bar of God. O Father, set thy people right at 
this point ! 

The Church should see that the minister be " with- 
out fear " of want. He should be made to feel at 
once that he is to have a generous support. ISTot 
barely sufficient to enable him to live, but to live 



40 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

comfortably, and the while, with economy, to lay by 
something for the days of sickness and the infirmities 
of age. There is probably no one thing which so 
cripples the influence of the ministry as a penurious 
spirit manifested on the part of the Church in its 
support. Some have peculiar ways and entertain 
peculiar views respecting the support of the minis- 
try. When solicited to contribute something for this 
purpose they say, " If the minister visits us we will 
give him something; please tell him so." Now, I 
would like to know just what it were right to think 
of such men. If the minister visits them, it is under- 
stood, of course, that he does so for the sake of get- 
ting a morsel ; and if he does not visit them, they not 
unfrequently charge him with the sin of feeling him- 
self above them. The support of the ministry should 
never depend on the caprice of such men, and, it is 
fortunate that such are a minority in almost all 
communities. God has ordained that "they that 
preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel," and 
that " the laborer is worthy of his hire." But there 
is another class who say, " We will pay nothing to- 
ward the support of the minister, for we do not like 
his sermons." He either preaches too long or too 
short, too loud or too low. Others say, "We will 
give nothing, for it is always the same thing over and 
over ; why don't he study and try to inform himself, 
and keep up with the times, and give us something 



Relative Duties of Church and Ministry. 41 

new ? " While others say, " We will not do much, 
if any thing, for he preaches from notes, or writes 
and reads his sermons, and I do not believe in a min- 
ister's doing the one or the other ; if God has called 
him to preach, let him trust in God to give him 
something to say on Sundays, and let him work on 
week-days as we do." Need I enter into an argu- 
ment to convince you that religion enough to save 
such men in a dying hour would most certainly save 
them from entertaining such notions. Every mem- 
ber of the Church should do something toward the 
support of the Gospel, not because they are pleased 
with the man or the men who preach it, or with the 
manner in which it is preached, but from principle 
and for the public good. What must be thought of 
a man who, once a week, from year to year, should 
call on a neighbor just at meal-time and eat with 
him, and yet never invite the neighbor to come and 
eat in return ? and who should absolutely refuse to 
give any one a meal when asked to do so \ Must he 
not be thought to be a sponger, and a very mean one 
at that ? And yet there are men who belong to the 
Church, and who regularly hear the Gospel, that 
never give any thing proportionate to their ability 
toward its support, and who seem to think that 
churches can be built, and kept clean and warm, and 
the minister and his family be well cared for, without 
their having any responsibility in the matter, only to 



42 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

be in as comfortable a seat as there is in the church 
every Sabbath. Every public good costs somebody 
something, and I trust there are very few who will 
envy the man who acts on the principle " others will 
do if I do not." Brethren, resolve that if " Timo- 
theus come, that he may be with you without fear " 
of a support. You will thereby be very much more 
likely to profit by his ministrations, and be much 
more able to respect yourselves. 

It is also the duty of the Church to co-operate 
with the minister " in the work of the Lord." Per- 
sonal effort on the part of every member of the 
Church in connection with the personal efforts of the 
ministry would constitute a net-work of influences 
which would gather thousands into the fold of 
Christ, where there are not brought hundreds now. 
I have been led to this conclusion ; nay, it has been 
forced upon my mind by the reluctance manifested 
on the part of numerous professedly religious parents 
to co-operate with the ministry in its efforts to bring 
their relatives and children to Christ. How often, 
in conversing with their unconverted ones, has the 
faithful pastor become acquainted with the fact that 
neither father nor mother, brother nor sister has ever 
seriously and affectionately besought fhem to give 
their hearts to Jesus ? Brethren, can it be that 
you are saved, as you should be, if you have not the 
grace which makes it a pleasure to you to tell sinners 



Eelatiye Duties of Church and Ministry. 43 

— your own children — of an all-saving Jesus ? and to 
urge them, at least, with as much zeal as does the 
stranger minister, to embrace him as their only hope \ 
There is a false and destructive delicacy at this point 
which should be put to death, for, unless it is, you 
will be called upon to see your children and friends 
die without hope; and the awful thought will go 
thundering through your souls, " These might have 
been saved had we but co-operated with those who 
were trying to do them good." Brethren, remember 
the past. Were you left entirely to the efforts of 
the ministry ? Nay, were not many of you brought 
into the light of salvation by the personal efforts of 
the laity ? How often you have thought, " but for 
what some private members of the Church had done 
we should never have found the Lord ! " And has 
not the injunction, " Go thou and do likewise," as 
often come with force to your souls ? And did it 
not come to be obeyed ? Evidently for that pur- 
pose did it come, and did you obey it ? If truth 
compels you to answer no, are you not ready now to 
say, " God helping me, I will ? " O that the blessed 
Spirit may help you to form and execute this high 
and just resolve 1 Dear brethren, let " Timotheus," 
whoever he may be, be with you without fear of 
lacking your willing and earnest co-operation, " for 
he worketh the work of the Lord." Surely, breth- 
ren, it will be an honor to you to have your heads 



44 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

and hearts employed in such a work. God will 
make you happy in it, and many shall pronounce 
you blessed. Your dying day shall be your happiest, 
and you shall be remembered by those who survive 
you, as honored instruments in the hands of God, in 
turning others " from darkness to light, and from the 
power of Satan unto God." 

" As laborers in thy vineyard 

Send us, Christ, to be 
Content to bear the burden 

Of weary days for thee ; 
We ask no other wages, 

When thou shalt call us home, 
But to have shared the travail 

Which makes thy kingdom come." 



God otjk Fathek. 45 



GOD OUR FATHER. 

"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith 
the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive you, and 
will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith 
the Lord Almighty."— 2 Cor. vi, 17, 18. 

THE relation expressed in the term, "A Father 
unto you," is one of the most dear and interest- 
ing known to men. Father ! — what visions of the past 
throng our minds upon the simple utterance of the 
time-honored title? Swift-winged thought, or the 
reverse movements of the mental enginery within, 
bear us back to the interesting past; and we see 
again what we then saw, and hear again what we 
then heard. We seem to see again a father's form 
and features, his beaming eye, his ruddy cheek, his 
noble brow, and winning smile which drew us to his 
knee. We seem to hear again his cheerful song, as 
he goes forth to earn the daily bread for us depend- 
ent ones ; and the pleasure-giving sounds of his man- 
ly footsteps, as he nears the dear old home at eve. 
We hear again the household words, " Father 's com- 
ing ! " And then we seem to see ourselves again, as 
with joyous bound we hasten out to meet and greet 
him. Others of us, and not a few, hear the word, 
father, with vastly different reflections. "We hear it, 



46 Sekmons and Reminiscences. 

and at once think of him as he was when sickness 
had taken the strength out of his noble frame, when 
age had touched his brow with care and his locks 
with frost, when he leans upon his staff and the fire 
has grown dim in his eye, and when "the keepers 
of the house all tremble, and the wheel is broken at 
the cistern, and the pitcher is broken at the fount- 
ain " — we see, alas ! alas ! we see him dead ; and the 
awful thought — the crushing truth runs through the 
family — father 's gone ! Father is dead ! ! Is not the 
relation of father a dear and deeply interesting one ? 
When destroyed, is there not a wound which earth 
can never heal — a sorrow which it can never cure? 
O how sad and deep the gloom which settles down 
on childhood bereaved of a father! How do such 
appeal to all the humanity that is within us! We 
have only to learn that a little girl or boy is father- 
less to be drawn toward them, or prompted to speak 
a word or to perform an act which shall draw them 
to ourselves. How involuntarily does a " God bless 
you ! " come to our lips as we meet the fatherless ones. 
And although some of these are perverse and mean 
and wicked, yet, in spite of ourselves, we are chari- 
table in our feelings toward them. We think of 
them with solicitude, we are apt to speak to them in 
a kinder tone than we are wont to speak to others. 

A beautiful ship at sea, bearing a precious cargo, 
without rudder or pilot, left to the sport of the winds 



God our Father. 47 

and waves, to hidden reefs and fearful maelstroms, 
excites within lis feelings of pity and of sorrow, but 
a child without a father's guiding hand and voice 
and judgment — adrift on the sea of time, exposed to 
influences which lure to ruin, to examples which 
grow from sinful habits, and to temptations which 
have their birth in the hot-beds of the devil — is vastly 
more an object of yearning pity and of soul-solici- 
tude. I charge and beseech you, Christian brethren 
and friends, to give unto all such whom you shall 
meet, at least, the benefit of a kind word and a warm 
God bless you! You who have children know not 
how soon they may be fatherless. As you would 
have others befriend and care for them in such an 
event, do you be sure to befriend and care for others. 
But we had intended to notice, 

The duties which the relation of father imposes; 
and, therefore, to this point we now invite your at- 
tention. The duties of a father may be expressed 
under one general head, namely, Provision for the 
wants of his children. The wants of children are 
various, but among their first wants are food and 
clothing. A healthy, generous diet, and clean, com- 
fortable clothing are chief among the first wants of 
children. These the father is expected to provide. 
He that provideth not for his own household has 
denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. We 
involuntarily shun the man who, to gratify a de- 



48 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

praved appetite for tobacco or for strong drink 
consumes in its indulgence what should go toward 
feeding and clothing his children more comfortably ; 
and we hope to see the time when money taken from 
such fathers, for such a selfish and debasing purpose, 
will have to be refunded to their children, with the 
costs of prosecution. Few, if any, but those who 
either wish to sell or use the infernal stuff will ever 
oppose such a law; and in the good time coming, 
when the good and the honest shall lead, instead of 
being led, as is now the case, this robbing from child- 
hood and youth shall be punished as it deserves 
to be. 

But children need educating; it is therefore the 
duty of the father to furnish the means and to give 
opportunity to acquire an education. If it be true 
that "communities of ignorance are communities of 
vice," it follows by natural sequence that families 
of ignorance are families of vice, for communities 
are but f amilies multiplied. The production in the 
minds of children of a desire for learning should be 
among the first efforts of all fathers. The usefulness 
for which education qualifies men, the sources of 
happiness which it opens up before them, the rich 
and varied means with which it furnishes men to act 
well their part amid the stirring and important events 
of human life, may each and all be urged as motives 
to acquire the largest fund of human knowledge. To 



God our Fatheb. 49 

rear a child in ignorance in a land of colleges and 
free schools, must be an act of injustice both to the 
child and the State. Extraordinaries excepted, most 
fathers in this country could, if they would, beget 
in the minds of their children a fixed purpose to 
become thoroughly educated — a purpose that would 
strengthen with their years, and aid them much in 
acquiring valuable possessions in the realms of science, 
despite poverty and all the ordinary difficulties which 
lie in the path of success. How commanding the in- 
centives for fathers to aid in the formation and exe- 
cution of such a purpose? The age in which they 
live, the stirring events which come rushing on, the 
prospects of success, the facilities for communication 
or transmission of thought, the brightening glorious 
destiny which opens before us as a people, the inter- 
esting and important relation that we hold to every 
segment of the world, all, all have a voice to incite 
the fathers in this generation to help their children 
to the most liberal education — to become largely in- 
telligent. It is also the duty of fathers to do what 
they can to prepare their children for the very best 
society. Such society in this world is that of the 
most pure and elevated thought, the most refined 
and virtuous feeling, the noblest and holiest aims, 
and of the most rational scriptural pleasures. Prep- 
aration for such society necessarily involves obedience 

to rightful authority, a knowledge of all just claims, 
4 



50 Sermons and Keminiscences. 

respect for superiors, and a disposition tempered with 
kindness to hold to the right, the pure, and the good 
with the tenacity of lif e. To start children with such 
a moral and mental furnishing will require " precept 
upon precept, precept upon precept," constantly 
urged upon their attention by the force of a living 
example. But are you ready to inquire, " What has 
this to do with the text ? " Much every way, chiefly, 
however, because in it, "the Lord Almighty" pro- 
poses to be " a Father unto " us ; and, consequently, 
holds himself - ready to meet the obligations which 
that relation imposes. 

Blessed be his name ! How kind it is in him to 
make the proposition ! He sees our souls all naked 
and starving, and says, "I will be a Father unto 
you." If so, he will clothe us with the garment of 
salvation, the spotless robe of Christ's righteousness, 
made ours by faith. He will also feed us with the 
" hidden manna," the bread of heaven. If a " Fa- 
ther," then he will educate us, teaching us "won- 
drous things out of his law," so that we shall feel to 
say with one of his ancient pupils, " O the depth 
of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of 
God!" and, like him also, be able to reckon "all 
things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of 
Christ Jesus my Lord." 

If " a Father unto " us, he will prepare us for the 
best society. The lest! O what is the best on 



God our Father. 51 

earth when compared to that other best — the best 
in heaven? Some of that society have always been 
good — that portion made up of the angels and those 
from the households of earth, who went to the bright 
spirit-land in infancy ; and the rest of the company 
consists of those who, though once sinners, have been 
washed by the " washing of regeneration and the re- 
newing of the Holy Ghost." Now, to be prepared 
for such society, man must have more than the help 
of man — "Omnipotence must lend its aid or all is 
lost ;" but, if God is a Father unto us, the help of 
Omnipotence is ours, and we shall succeed. How is 
it, then, that he will be a Father unto us ? It is on 
condition that we " come out from among them, and 
be . . . separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing." 
This done, he says, " I will receive you, and will be a 
Father unto you." How definite is this instruction ; 
how reasonable the condition ! " Come out from 
among them " — the workers of iniquity — " and be ye 
separate," join the family of God, the Church of 
Christ, and walk no longer in the ways of sin with sin- 
ners, and " touch not the unclean thing," have noth- 
ing to do with that which is wrong — it is unclean, 
and will pollute and defile you. Do this, all this, 
just this, "and I will receive you, and will be a 
Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daugh- 
ters, saith the Lord Almighty." What motives, and 
what reward ! Received of the Lord Almighty. O 



52 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

ye who are strangers to God by wicked works, and 
have joined hands with his enemies, he now in kind- 
ness offers to receive yon — to adopt you, and be a 
Father unto you. 

"Would some one of large wealth and great benevo- 
lence make such a proposal to some of the fatherless 
ones, who are multiplying in every community, how 
eagerly would they comply with any reasonable con- 
dition ! And how wise and happy they would be in 
doing so. You, my fellow-man and fellow-sinner, 
are in greater need of a heavenly Father's care. 
Your soul needs that Father's house to live in when 
"the earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved." 
A house and home eternal. The dear and interesting 
relation of father, in this world, cannot last long at 
the longest. Fathers die in this world, and children, 
too, die — die despite all that fathers can do to pre- 
vent it — and fathers die despite all that children 
can do to prevent it — but he who has God for a Fa- 
ther need never lose him. He will, if they obedient- 
ly will it to be so, be their Father forever. Are not 
some here to-day who once felt that God was their 
Father, but who feel so no longer ? Those who have 
scattered their ways to strangers left their Father, 
and have wandered far from home. "Was he not 
kind unto you ? Did he not follow you a great way, 
and seek to bring you back % What caused you to 
leave him? How could you treat your Father so? 



God our Father. 53 

But I will not press this now, for I have something 
far more agreeable to say. It is this: He is still 
willing to be your Father. The change is not in 
him, but in yourselves. He waits your return ; yea, 
invites it. He says, " Eeturn unto me, and I will 
return unto you." Come, O come back to " our Fa- 
ther." He is kind and good ; he is rich and power- 
fid. Children share the inheritance of their fathers. 
If you will comply with the conditions expressed in 
the text, if you will have God for your Father on 
those terms, he will " give you grace and glory," and 
withhold no good thing from you. Come, sinner, 
and let him receive you ; come, and let your Father 
bless you. Come "out from among them" — the 
vile, the polluting ones — and he will give you the 
best society there is on earth in which to mingle 
while here, and, when you go hence, he will let you 
in among the angels, where you may 

u Sweep a harp of wondrous song " 

with glory on your brow forever. Fully confide in 
God as your Father, and he will yet lift you up to his 
home and his heart in heaven. 

In the light of this subject, we think that it must 
be clear to every mind, that it is according to the will 
of God that all those who would live a Christian life 
separate themselves from the world by joining some 
branch of the general Church. 



54 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

The question is not, May I not live a Christian 
life out of the Church ? But it is rather this, " If 
God instituted the Church, with its ordinances, do 
not I call in question his wisdom and his goodness in 
keeping out of the Church, and neglecting his ordi- 
nances ? " 

It is as clearly the duty of unbaptized believers to 
receive the ordinance of baptism, as it is for them to 
pray, to read God's word, or to wait on him in the 
sanctuary, by reverently listening to the preaching 
of his everlasting Gospel ; and it is equally the duty 
of all penitent believers to commemorate the death 
of Christ in partaking of the Lord's Supper — the 
holy Eucharist. Now, as God has placed these in the 
Church, and not out of the Church, it follows that all 
true believers should belong to some religious body 
where these are administered. 

The Church is God's family on earth, and though 
some of the children in this family act like any thing 
else but children, or as children should, yet in this 
family there are those who reverence and greatly re- 
spect the Father, and believe his government to be 
the very best, and the most adapted to the intelligent 
happiness of all the family. Indeed, I believe no 
fault has ever been found with this family of God by 
any of its members but those who have so lived as 
to be a disgrace and a dishonor to it. The good and 
worthy members have so much to do to keep them- 



God ouk Father. 55 

selves right that they can hardly afford to spend much, 
time in looking up the faults of others. 

The doors of the house in which this Church- 
family live are always open, so that if any go in, 
and do not wish to remain, they are not kept by con- 
straint, the door is open, and they can depart in 
peace. Who, then, will not come out from among 
the workers of iniquity ? Who that will not come 
into the family of God? I know that it will cost 
you a high resolve to break away from the wicked 
and filthy associations in which you have mingled so 
long, but I know that it is your only hope to do so. 
O how tight the fetters of habit are being fastened 
to you ! God help you to break them while you may, 
and to begin now ! 

" Now God invites, how blest the day ! 

How sweet the Gospel's charming sound ! 
Come sinners, haste ! haste away, 

While yet a pardoning God is found." 



56 Sermons and Reminiscences. 



ACQUAINTANCE WITH GOD. 

" For some have not the knowledge of God : I speak this to your 
shame." — 1 Cor. xv, 34. 

ONE type of infidelity rejects the idea of the exist- 
ence of a God, and claims that all things come, con- 
tinue, and go by chance. Another type claims that mat- 
ter is God, and that God is matter, and that there is no 
revelation of God but by matter. - A third type profess 
to believe in the existence of such a God as the Bible 
reveals, and that the Bible is what it assumes to be, 
a revelation of God's will to man, but in practice, in 
life, act as if there is no God. In reply to those who 
represent the first type we have only to say that the 
idea of a self-existing, all-wise, and all-powerful God 
is co-extensive with the race, and that it devolves on 
them to explain with whom, and when, and where 
this sublime and granite idea originated. In reply to 
those representing the second type, we remark that 
their idea of God contradicts man's consciousness; 
for, according to their teaching, man is but matter, 
and yet this man-matter sees and hears and tastes and 
smells and feels that he is not God, nor any part of 
him. Now if man, who is the most wonderful speci- 
men of organized matter on the face of the earth, 



Acquaintance with God. 57 

rejects by his consciousness the theory that matter is 
God and God is matter, the testimony in support of 
said theory, drawn from all other sources, must be 
feeble indeed. This notion is also seen to be wide 
of the truth, in that He who spake as " never man 
spake" declares, "God is a spirit." I know that 
those who represent this type of infidelity ridicule 
the Bible account of the conception, birth, and char- 
acter of the man " Christ Jesus," for they have, 
doubtless, found it was very much easier to do so 
than it was to overthrow the account by sound argu- 
ment ; but the testimony of profane as well as of sa- 
cred history declares him to have been a credible 
witness, far beyond the possibility of impeachment. 
Moreover, it devolves on them to prove that God is 
not a spirit, and that he is matter, neither of which 
have they ever done nor are at all likely to do. 

Respecting those who comprise the third type, and 
of whom there are many in every community, we re- 
mark that, having embraced in theory the Bible ac- 
count of the existence, will, and character of God, 
they must incur immeasurable guilt by living as if 
there were no God. "Will it surprise or offend you, 
who are unrepenting and disobedient, if we say, what 
we fully believe, that you are of this class or type ! 
Let us see. Should I come to you personally and 
ask if you believed in the God of the Bible, in that 
"book" as a revelation from him to men, and that 



58 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

lie had designed to let you and all men know what 
was his will by that " book," you would doubtless 
answer, " I certainly do." And yet, how have you 
lived ? How are you now living ? When have you 
thought of God with real sorrow that you had not 
thought more of him ? When have you really sought 
to praise him % When have you prayed unto him ? 
When ? Did you ever humble yourself before him, 
thus confessing him to be greater than yourself? 
Did you ever confide in him, and thereby acknowl- 
edge him to be worthy of your confidence? Did 
you ever, ever do one thing because he required it 
and for the express purpose of honoring him ; and if 
so, can you remember what it was ? Please do not 
secretly accuse me of being too inquisitive, nor " ac- 
count me your enemy if I tell you the truth." You 
profess to believe in God, in the Bible, that it is a 
revelation of his will to men ; and if to men, to you ; 
and if to you, how vast and constant the obligation 
that is upon you to love God and obey him ! This 
in theory you acknowledge, while in practice you 
say, " There is no God," and therefore no revelation 
of his will, and that you are without responsibility. 
Are you not, then, of the class who are without " a 
knowledge of God ? " Especially without that knowl- 
edge of him that exerts a controlling influence on 
your life ? What, then, is that knowledge of God of 
which the text asserts some to be ignorant ? 



Acquaintance with God. 59 

1. It is not that knowledge of him, derivable only 
from his works. For though it be true that "the 
heavens declare the glory of God, and the flrmanent 
showeth his handiwork," yet, as these have no voice 
to proclaim either his justice, holiness, goodness, or 
love, they cannot be of service to men in teaching 
them to love and obey him, or to produce within 
them the feeling that he is " Our Father ! " To 
know God only, as to his almightiness and terrible 
majesty, is to have the feeling of fear and awe ex- 
cited within us. Only to have such knowledge of 
him is to tremble at the noise of his footsteps, and to 
" exceedingly fear and quake " at the thunders with 
which he shakes the continents. To behold him only 
in the aspect of an avenger, as the great arbiter of 
the nations, tossing them against each other in deadly 
conflict, sending forth famine and pestilence as in- 
struments of his wrath, and as terrible ministers of 
his government, is to have begotten in us the in- 
quiry, " Whither shall I flee from thy presence ? " 
Yet this is the sum of the knowledge most wicked 
men have of God. The knowledge of him, of which 
the text declares some to be ignorant, cannot be ob- 
tained by the hearing of the ear, nor by the sight of 
the eye, for it comes, if it comes at all, by the Spirit's 
taking of the things of God and showing them to the 
souls of men. When this is done the person knows 
God aright, and this knowledge is eternal life to him. 



60 Sermons and Keminiscences. 

The soul, thus possessed, still knows and beholds 
God, great in majesty and wonderful in working, but 
also sees and knows him in the milder aspect of bene- 
factor and redeemer. God is still known as the om- 
nipotent One, but as employing the almighty ener- 
gies of his grace in the restoration of man to the 
power he had utterly forfeited, and to the endless 
heaven for which, in some sense, his immortality 
adapts him. The soul now sees in him a God of 
goodness and of love, an almighty and never-chang- 
ing friend. It knows him, and in spirit has converse 
and communion with him, confiding interests to his 
keeping that are more valuable than globes of gold 
or a universe of silver. How sweetly, trustingly she 
sings, 

" Jesus, my God ! I know his name ; 

His name is all my trust ; 
Nor will he put my soul to shame, 

Nor let my hope be lost." 

Why, then, is it a shame that there are some 
among you who have not this knowledge of God ? 
Doubtless mistaken views of the specific mission 
God intends his people to fill is one reason. They 
are designed to be " the salt of the earth," and " the 
light of the world." And yet it is to be feared that 
a large majority of the local Churches, and conse- 
quently of the membership of the general Church, 
have no set purpose to live or to labor for the 



Acquaintance with God. 61 

salvation of the lost. To remedy this defect, or to 
supply this want of personal effort and sense of re- 
sponsibility on the part of the membership, laborers 
from abroad are sought, through whose labors, in the 
name of God and the spirit of the Master souls are 
awakened and converted ; but the full fruit is never 
gathered and secured to the cause of Christ, because 
only the minority of the members were " workers 
together with God," and with these servants of his. 
The converts joining the Church soon find that there 
are comparatively few who are well prepared to lead 
and feed them, to give wise counsel, and to offer 
needed assistance, and in a short time a large propor- 
tion of these are in spirit and formality with those 
who had little to do in bringing them into the 
kingdom. 

As a rule, those only who are born to the Church 
through her painful labors and travail will hold to 
her as their mother, and in turn will take hold of 
the hearts of wicked men, and by the prayer of 
faith and labor of love bring them to the excel- 
lent knowledge of " Christ Jesus, the Lord." That 
religious society or body rests upon the most perma- 
nent foundation, and will accomplish the most good 
in the world, which is most successful in inculcating a 
sense of individual responsibility among its members. 
God evidently intends his ■ Church to be aggressive. 
It should, therefore, be made up of progressive men 



62 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

and women; and not of those which an occasional 
new idea nearly kills, but the rather of those who 
" grow in grace," and let their " light shine before 
men," and who are " going on to pef ection." 

" Some have not the knowledge of God : I speak 
this to your shame." O, brethren, let us each open 
our heart to take in this language, and to revolve its 
searching significance. Let us each ask himself the 
questions, What am I doing to make men acquainted 
with God ? What to bring them to know Jesus 
Christ and the power of his resurrection ? Is it not 
a shame to us that some of our families and many of 
our acquaintances do not yet know God? True, 
some of these may not be in wickedness what they 
might have been but for our counsels and our 
prayers, but how few of them have been drawn to 
Jesus' feet, as was Mary ; or to his loving heart, as 
was John ? Christianity is designed to bless the 
world with light and love. Has it shone into your 
heart, brother, and made you happy ? Do not hide 
it, but by the purity of your life, by the happiness of 
your spirit, seek to commend it to others as worthy 
of their heartiest acceptation. Not a single week 
should be allowed to pass, where there is a religious 
society, without some one or more being brought to 
know God in his forgiving mercy by its earnest united 
Christian effort and influence. How such a condi- 
tion of the Church would obviate the necessity for 



Acquaintance with God. 63 

canrp-mee tings, and effectually roll off from the 
Church the reproach connected with her spasmodic 
or periodical efforts to bring men to God ? When I 
think of the ability of the feeblest members of the 
Church to banter in trade, to contend for cherished 
opinions in political matters, and to manufacture and 
circulate gossip, I am sure they could, if they would, 
become efficient workers in the cultivation of almost 
any Gospel field, and successful instruments in win- 
ning souls for Christ. 

Allow me to utter a direct and personal question 
just here. It is this: Have you ever enjoyed the 
luxury of bringing a soul to God? Do you covet 
such enjoyment ? Let me assure you that it is law- 
ful for you to do so. Come, then, and come now, 
aud consecrate yourself, soul and body, to this blessed 
work. Devils are out after souls. Should not all 
Christians be ? O let us each to-day begin a life-long 
effort to rob them of their prey ! Here, and now, 
amid these hallowed associations and sanctified friend- 
ships, where ascends the fervent prayer and the song 
of praise, just here and now, give yourselves anew to 
God and forever. Thou cleansing, inspiring, and 
sealing Spirit, come upon us, that we may evermore 
labor to bring men to know God, " whom to know 
aright is eternal life ! " Brother sinner, did you 
never think that it is because you know so little 
of God that you love him so little % If you were 



64 Sermons and Reminiscences, 

as well acquainted with him as you might be, you 
would " be at peace with him." It is your ig- 
norance of God, as the Saviour of ruined men, 
that must furnish any apology for your misery in 
time or in eternity. 

" My Redeemer to know, to feel his blood flow, 
This is life everlasting — 'tis heaven below." 

" If all the world my Jesus knew, 
Then all the world would love him too." 

Sinner, you may know Him, and if you seek you 
shall find him ; and to you, as well as to all his 
servants in the past and the present, he shall be 
the one who is " altogether lonely," and " the chief- 
est among ten thousand." Please do not any longer 
neglect attention to the interests of your souls be- 
cause some in the Church ignore all responsibility 
respecting your salvation ; but remember that you 
must each know God for yourself, and stand, as if 
alone, before him in the judgment. When I think 
that I must give account there as to how I have 
preached to you and warned you, I would, if I 
could, prevent your looking at the miserable in- 
consistencies of mere professors of religion, at least 
long enough to " look unto Jesus " and be saved. 
As you cherish the memory of the good that have 
died ; as you sigh for a peace you have never 
known ; as you desire the smile and the kiss of 



Acquaintance with God. 65 

God in the final struggle ; and as you would have 
him acknowledge jou to be his when he comes to 
make up his jewels, begin this day to say, " Let me 
know thee, O God, in thy mercy, that I may never 
know thee in thy wrath ! " 

" Come to Calvary's holy mountain, 

Sinners ruined by the fall; 
Here a pure and healing fountain 

Flows to you, to me, to all, 
In a full perpetual tide, 

Opened when our Saviour died. 

" Come, in sorrow and contrition, 

Wounded, impotent, and blind; 
Here the guilty, free remission, 

Here the lost a refuge find. 
Health, this fountain will restore; 

He that drinks need thirst no more. 

"Come, ye dying, live forever; 

'Tis a soul-reviving flood ; 
God is faithful ; he will never 

Break his covenant sealed in blood ; 
Signed when our Redeemer died, 

Sealed when he was glorified." 
5 



66 Sermons and Reminiscences. 



THE RIGHT DIRECTION OF THE HEART. 

u And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God." 

— 2 Thess. iii, 5. 

WHAT simplicity of utterance is here, and jet 
how full of kindly sentiment, of superior wis- 
dom, and of comprehensive Christian desires for 
those addressed ! These are characteristics of St. 
Paul. His style is easy-flowing; simple, not com- 
plex ; intelligible, not difficult of apprehension. He 
soars, but you do not see him making an effort to 
rise. He breathes great prayers for those he loves in 
Christ, yet does not seem to think of their greatness. 
He drops words of consolation and wisdom on their 
ears, but you never detect him in priding himself on 
the utterance of them. The secret of this is, he 
could not get low enough to do so. The attrac- 
tions from above were too great for this. The 
love of God " absorbed him quite." Of this he 
thought ; to this he would turn the attention of the 
world ; into this he would have the hearts of believ- 
ers directed. 

The love of God, as a subject for consideration, as 
a matter of experience, and as a source of enjoyment, 
indicates the line of thought our mind shall take in 
the discussion of this interesting subject. 



The Eight Direction of the Heart. 67 

To consider the love of God, something more is 
meant than the bestowment of occasional thought. 
The benighted traveler has glanced upward, and, in 
doing so, has beheld stars of different magnitude, and 
he has thought, "It is fortunate for me that God 
has made and placed these brilliants in the heavens ;" 
and he has passed on and reached his home in safety, 
no more to think of moon or stars until again be- 
nighted. Just so it is with many in regard to their 
considering the love of God. 

An occasional thought, few and far between, men 
seem to regard as being a sufficient consideration of 
his love. But did the traveler alluded to consider 
the moon and stars % Was he prepared to do it then 
and there ? If so, he must have previously mastered 
the science of astronomy, and had at hand and eye a 
powerful telescope ; for without that knowledge and 
instrument of vision he might simply notice those 
orbs of light for an age, and still remain as ignorant 
of them as when he first began to look. 

If, then, preparation is essential to a consideration 
of these works of God, much more must it be to a 
consideration of his love. God's Bible is the great 
text-book of the love of God ; therefore, to consider 
this love,' familiarity with the Scriptures is indis- 
pensable. 

This, with faith as the spiritual telescope, possessed 
by men, and the love of God may be considered by 



68 Sermons and Beminiscences. 

them with unfailing interest and with abounding 

joy- 

And is not the love of God, as a subject for con- 
sideration, worthy of such preparation \ Or is it so 
insignificant a stream that its sound and flow may be 
swept at a single glance % Kay, verily. It is a fount- 
ain whose " streams the whole creation reach;" or, 
to change the figure, it is an illimitable sea, without 
a shore on which its waves shall never break. 

As the most perfect and useful piece of mech- 
anism must fail of being appreciated by the be- 
holder, by reason of his ignorance of the mechanic 
arts, and of their contribution to national prosperity 
and greatness, so the love of God, the source of 
redemption lies beyond the vision, and consequent 
appreciation of those who search not the Scriptures, 
and who hide not the word of the Lord in their 
hearts. 

If men would be directed into a consideration of the 
love of God, they must study his word, which reveals 
and declares it. There it may be seen embodied, de- 
veloped, and diffused. There may be heard its heav- 
enly breathings in exceeding great and precious 
promises ; and then they may learn what the love of 
God has done to bless and save them. O if you have 
any proper regard for your souls, and especially for 
their well-being in the endless hereafter toward 
which you are so rapidly tending, delay not another 



The Right Direction of the Heart. 69 

day to begin a preparation for appropriately consid- 
ering the love of God. It is true, that much and 
careful reading of the Bible, with a trustful, teacha- 
ble spirit, is involved in a proper consideration of his 
love ; but, if you will give yourself fully to the 
work, you will make wonderful discoveries in the 
love of God, at the sight of which your hearts shall 
thrill with pleasures not known by you before, and 
many shall hear you declare, " The half was never 
told me." 

You should persevere in this work because of the 
peculiar blessings and privileges which the love of 
God secures to you. Angels, those beings of supe- 
rior power and intelligence, sinned, " kept not their 
first estate," and abode not in the truth, and are " re- 
served in everlasting chains under darkness unto the 
judgment of the great day ; " there is no longer 
given them a state of trial, nor the continued offer 
of a Saviour, nor is there now granted to them the 
enlightening and constraining influence of the Holy 
Spirit; but all of these are still given to men, by 
the love of God. 

Were you sick, nigh unto death, or famishing for 
want of food, and should a benevolently disposed 
person supply you with a remedial agent, or with 
wholesome food, by which you should be saved from 
death, he would be sought out by you, and his ac- 
quaintance made, if possible. You would like to see 



'TO Sermons and Reminiscences. 

his form and features, and to become familiar with 
them. You would love to pour your thanks into his 
ears, and to do him many favors in return. The 
love of God has done infinitely more for you, and 
will you not consider it ? May the love of God con- 
strain you to do so, and thus lay an additional obliga- 
tion upon you to consider that love ! 

But we pass to notice the love of God as a matter 
of experience. 

And here we would be distinctly understood as 
teaching the utter inability of every thing but the 
Spirit of God to direct your hearts into the experi- 
ence of his love. The Spirit only can take of the 
things of God, and so show them to men that they 
can experience them. 

But the half-skeptical inquiry is made just here, 
"What do you mean by experiencing the love of 
God ? " "We answer : The possession of it — the posses- 
sion of it by divine diffusion — it being " shed abroad 
in the heart by the Holy Ghost given unto us." This, 
we claim, may be known by the recipient — known as 
well, as positively,* as he may know any thing by the 
testimony of his senses. He feels it — it makes him 
happy — it destroys the fear of death within him — it 
inspires him with hope — arms him against tempta- 
tion — constrains him in his measure to do good unto 
others, and sets his soul all on fire with zeal for 
God's glory, and for the salvation of all souls which 



The Eight Direction of the Heart. 71 

are lost in sin and error's night. O how wonderful 
is this love in the hearts of men ! As the showers 
that water the earth in one locality are exhaled in 
imperceptible mists, and then collected in clouds 
which empty themselves on other thirsty sections, 
the supply kept equal to the demand by draught 
from the numerous bodies of water which dot the 
surface of the earth, so the love of God, experienced 
by his people, is borne along into all classes of hu- 
man society, by their noiseless lives, professions of 
faith, hallowed songs, and shouts of triumph. Thus 
the love of God is self-diffusing and self-perpetuat- 
ing. Every heart possessing it has a freshness, love- 
liness, beauty, and charm about it which attracts the 
beholder, and a voice out of that heart reaching his, 
says, O how lovingly ! O how eloquently ! " Come 
to this oasis ; come, and be happy. Come, and that 
heart, which now beats time to the discord of hell, 
shall throb with unutterable joy to the harmony of 
heaven. Come, and though thy heart be allied to 
spirits fallen but never to be redeemed, it shall, by 
the love of God diffusedly infused, be in every 
thought renewed, and heaven shall henceforth be 
acknowledged as the place of thy nativity and as 
your eternal abode." 

O thou blessed Holy Spirit, direct some hearts 
into the conscious experience of the love of God this 
very hour ! 



72 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

Closely allied to the love of God experienced is 
the love of God as the source of enjoyment. Yet 
there is a difference. The former is essential to the 
latter. To enjoy the love of God, we must first ex- 
perience it. As men must first open their eyes to 
behold the glories of the rising sun, so the heart 
must first be renewed by love before we can enjoy 
it. For as a diseased or inflamed eye involuntarily 
shuns the light, so the heart in which the love of 
God is not " shed abroad " reciprocates not that love, 
and derives no pleasure from it. Perfect vision is 
essential to the enjoyment of perfect sunshine ; thus 
a perfect heart, a heart perfected in love, glows and 
rejoices in the love of God. 

We have heard persons speak of the " enjoyment 
of very poor health," but we never believed them, 
and we are equally unbelieving as to any one's en- 
joying the love of God who has no experience in it. 
Good health only is a source of enjoyment, thus is it 
respecting the love of God. Experienced, possessed 
by the soul, it thrills with ecstatic delights, and is the 
most intelligently happy thing in all the worlds that 
God has made. The body, the vehicle in which the 
soul is riding through probation, may be racked with 
pains and burned with fevers, and, by long contin- 
ued disease become so shorn of its strength as to be 
unable to stand alone, and the soul the while be lux- 
uriating in Elysian fields and rosy bowers or prom- 



The Eight Direction of the Heart. 73 

enading the golden streets of the eternal city, while 
ever and anon she listens to the gentle rustle of ser- 
aph's wings, or to the loud, loud anthems of the 
upper choir. Glory be to God for his love, which is 
at once the preparation and the source of such enjoy- 
ment ! 

These may be considered by some as exceedingly 
extravagant expressions, but let me assure such that 
they but very imperfectly convey an idea of what I 
myself experienced when, by wasting sickness, life 
and death were struggling for this house that I live 
in. O what waves from the sea of love rolled over 
my soul ! And still they come. Glory be to God ! 
Yes, still they come ! 

Brethren, what an interesting volume would the 
utterances of souls filled with the love of God con- 
stitute ! It might be somewhat difficult reading it, 
but, then, it would be easy enough shouting it if we 
had the love of God to move our hearts and lips, and 
to fill our voices. 

The love of God, as a source of enjoyment- 
How vast — how deep a sea is this ! From it flows 
the stream of redemption, fringed on either side 
with the choicest flowers of promise — exotics from 
heaven. 

Fellow-sinner, come to this stream. Come, and 
drink and live forever. Come, and be happy for- 
ever. Come believing, and " the Lord " will " direct 



74 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

your heart into the love of God." Come as you are, 
and come to-day, for the Master's voice is most 
assuring : 

" With me, your chief, ye then shall know, 

Shall feel, your sins forgiven ; 
Anticipate your heaven below, 

And own that love in heaven." 

Conclusion — To experience the love of God we 
must consider it; and to enjoy it we must first ex- 
perience it. 

"0 for a lowly, contrite heart, 

Believing, true, and clean ; 
Which neither life nor death can part 

From Him that dwells within, — 

" A heart in every thought renew'd, 

And full of love divine ; 
Perfect, and right, and pure, and good, 

A copy, Lord, of thine. 

" Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart ; 

Come quickly from above ; 
Write thy new name upon my heart, — 

Thy new, best name of Love." 



Mission of the Church and Ministry. 75 



THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH AND MINISTRY. 

"And he brought him to Jesus." — John i, 42. 

WHAT glorious surprises must the people have 
had who were favored with the visible presence 
of the Christ in his youth and mature manhood? 
His disputation with the doctors and lawyers in the 
temple at the age of twelve, the wonderful reply he 
made to his reputed parents when they chided him 
for the trouble he had given them on that occasion, 
and the frequent gleamings of the divinity which 
dwelt within him, must have awed and thrilled the 
beholders as nothing else had ever done. No marvel, 
then, when one discovered an attraction or an excel- 
lence in him, which he had not seen before, that he 
should desire to find "his own brother," or dear 
friend, that he might bring him where he might be- 
hold the same. It was thus with Andrew, Simon 
Peter's brother. " He first findeth his own brother 
Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the 
Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And 
he brought him to Jesus." 

Now, this principle is not only an element in hu- 
man nature, but is eminently an element in Chris- 
tian nature. Whoever comes to Christ is so anxious 



T6 Sermons and 'Reminiscences. 

that others should, that they are willing to make es- 
pecial effort to bring them to him ; and the question, 
" How can this be the most successfully done ? " is 
one of the greatest questions of this age. Bringing 
men to Jesus is the evident mission of both the 
Church and the ministry, for only as they do this are 
they " workers together with God." When, then, may 
it in truth be said that men are brought to Jesus ? 
We answer : 

1. Not when they have been merely brought to 
confess their sins, for many such still " hold the 
truth in unrighteousness ;" that is, they both know 
and confess the right, " yet still the wrong pursue." 
Instance those who confess that they ought to speak 
to sinners to " come over on the Lord's side," but 
never do so, and who are ever ready to acknowledge 
any wrong, but never ready to do the right. " These 
ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other 
undone." 

2. Bringing men to Jesus means something more 
than getting them to subscribe to any creed, however 
orthodox. If all who have been brought into the 
different orthodox Churches of this land had as cer- 
tainly been brought to Christ, the moral sense and 
public opinion of this country would ere this have 
secured such legislative enactments respecting the 
making, selling, and using as a beverage alcoholic 
liquors, as that at this hour, in the day of time, no 



Mission of the Church and Ministry. 77 

distillery would be left to pollute the air, nor man 
with a certified " good moral character " (?) be known 
to ask for license to sell " distilled damnation," nor 
any drunkard be seen reeling on the verge of hell. 
Sabbath-breaking would hardly be known among us, 
and she, whose bed is level with the mouth of perdi- 
tion, would have been the joyful mother of legitimate 
children. 

3. Bringing men to Christ means vastly more than 
persuading them to think that sprinkling, pouring, 
or immersion is the exclusive or only mode of Chris- 
tian baptism ; for many who would argue loud and 
long for either of these modes, and compass sea and 
land, and even other Churches, " to make proselytes," 
are living very much as the world lives, and are even 
more penurious than are many of those who make no 
profession. As it is possible for a person to be a 
Christian without being an Episcopalian, Presbyte- 
rian, Baptist, or a Methodist, so it is possible for him 
to be either of these without having actually come to 
Jesus ; for positively men may only be said to have 
come to him in a Gospel sense when he is appre- 
hended as the sinner's only hope. 

How many are the expedients to which the sinner 
will resort, how many the objects of trust on which 
he will depend, before he will so come to Jesus as to 
be saved by him ! Yet returning from his vain and 
fruitless search, and fixing his eye of faith on Christ, 



78 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

and apprehending him as his only hope, he is heard 
to say and sing, 

" Other knowledge I disdain ; 

'Tis all but vanity : 
Christ, the Lamb of God, was slain, 

He tasted death for me. 
Me to save from endless woe 

The sin-atoning Victim died : 
Only Jesus will I know, 

And Jesus crucified,'* 

"What an utter repudiation of every other trust and ' 
dependence is here expressed ! In all the realms of 
thought, and from among the endless variety of 
beings peopling the dominions of an infinitely wise 
and powerful Creator, he has fixed his thought, his 
mind, his soul on Christ, and he continues to sing, 

" Here will I set up my rest ; 

My fluctuating heart 
From the heaven of his breast 

Shall never more depart : 
Whither should a sinner go ? 

His wounds for me stand open wide ; 
Only Jesus will I know, 

And Jesus crucified." 

A person has come to Jesus when his word is 
taken as the rule of his life; for obedience to the 
teachings of Christ is the good test of discipleship. 
" Ye are my friends," said Jesus, " if ye do whatso- 
ever I command you." It is not prompt and willing 
obedience to one direction or command of the Mas- 



Mission of the Church and Ministry. 79 

ter, but to all of them. Some bigots will lay great 
stress and seek to enforce some duties on the young 
disciple, to the utter neglect and disregard of others ; 
but none have ever so learned Jesus. Some make 
baptism the door into the Church or the house of the 
Lord; but he says, "I am the door." It is not 
through Christ's ordinances, but through himself, 
that we are to pass from the carnal into the spiritual, 
and from the earthly into the heavenly. A soul 
coming to Jesus by taking his word as the rule of his 
life does not discriminate between duties and obli- 
gations, selecting such to discharge as are, in the es- 
teem of men, most respectable, or those which bigots 
have exalted iuto hobbies ; for his Master has said, 
" Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word 
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Hence, 
if he has wronged his neighbor in any wise, he will 
try to make restitution ; if he has neglected to read 
God's word, he will read it frequently and with care ; 
if he has restrained prayer, he will " call on the name 
of the Lord ;" if he has turned a deaf ear to the plead- 
ings of the poor, he will now help them ; if he has 
withheld from the claims of the Church, he will now 
cheerfully, and as God hath prospered him, cast into 
her treasury ; if he has never commemorated the 
death of the Son of God by partaking of the Holy 
Communion, he will do so the first opportunity ; and 
if he has not, as he should have, been baptized " with 



80 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

water " " in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost," he will be as soon as he 
intelligently can. 

To him who has come to Jesus by taking his word 
as the rule of his life there are no duties as great or 
small, for they are all alike great and equally obliga- 
tory. Hence he becomes a symmetrical Christian 
character, rounded and full in all its parts and feat- 
ures, and not as a well-developed man with a broken 
leg, a paralized arm, a cropped ear, and a plucked-out 
eye. A " thus saith the Lord " is to him the end 
of controversy and his law of action. Amid the con- 
flict of creeds, or the dictation of would-be leaders, 
he turns to the living oracles, and devoutly inquires, 
"What do they teach ?" and hearing, he obeys. Let 
us now consider the question, "How may men be 
brought to Jesus ? " 

The great heart of the Church and of the ministry 
is agitated, and even aching, with this mighty prob- 
lem, and yet so true as Jesus used the spittle and the 
clay to open the eyes of the blind, and the laying-on of 
the hands of Ananias in restoring sight to the smit- 
ten Saul, so true is it that God uses means in bring- 
ing men to Jesus. In an important sense God has 
ordained that men shall be saved by men, and in our 
text and context, we think, may be found the secret 
of success in bringing men to Christ. Let us read : 
" John stood, and two of his disciples ; and looking 



Mission of the Chubch and Ministry. 81 

■upon Jesus as lie walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb 
of God ! And the two disciples heard him speak, and 
they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw 
them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye ? " 
" One of the two which heard John speak, and fol- 
lowed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He 
[Andrew] first findeth his own brother Simon, and 
saith unto him, "We have found the Messias, which is, 
being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him 
to Jesus." Mark, " Andrew " was one of the two dis- 
ciples which had heard John say, " Behold the Lamb 
of God ! " He was " one of the two " who on that oc- 
casion followed Jesus, and unto whom the Saviour had 
turned and said, " What seek ye ? " And as he, with 
his brother disciple, answered, " Master, where dwell- 
est thou ? he saith unto them, Come and see. They 
came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him 
that day : for it was about the tenth hour." Andrew, 
therefore, had the great and inestimable privilege of 
a day with Jesus ! and the legitimate influence of this 
rare and rich association is seen in his first finding 
" his own brother Simon," and saying " unto him, We 
have found the Messias," and in bringing him to 
Jesus. This, then, is the lesson here taught: That 
acquaintance with Jesus and supreme love for him 
are essential for all to possess who would bring others 
to him. The connection between knowing and loving 

Jesus is most intimate and evident. The obedience 
6 



82 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

required by the Gospel is founded in sincere and 
earnest love for Jesus. 

" If all the world my Jesus knew, 
Then all the world would love him too," 

is but the response to the declaration, " Which none 
of the princes of this world knew, for had they 
known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of 
glory." The conclusion which I reach is this, that, 
as Andrew became acquainted with Jesus, he loved 
him ; and as he knew and loved Jesus, it was very 
natural for him to first find " his own brother Si- 
mon," and bring him to Jesus, that he, becoming ac- 
quainted with him, might love him also. The great 
question, then, How can men be brought to Jesus % is 
here answered. It is by their being looked after and 
sought out by those who do both know and love him. 
The laity as well as the ministry is supposed to pos- 
sess these qualifications. Therefore the world is 
looking to these instrumentalities for religious light 
and for a moral charm which shall bring it in its 
multiplying millions to Christ, the Saviour and Lord. 
Shall it look in vain, or with slight prospects of real- 
izing its expectation ? In vain and with little pros- 
pects, until a decided majority, instead of a positive 
minority, as is now the case, shall maintain their 
Christian integrity, and consecrate themselves to the 
work of raising up the fallen, and searching out and 



Mission of the Church and Ministry. 83 

bringing the lost ones to the great and loving Jesus. 
As " no man is good if others are not made better by 
him," how alarming the evidence that there is hardly 
more than one in ten of those who make a profession 
of faith in Christ who " return to give glory to God " 
by fully consecrating their lives to his service. It is 
no more true that God has ordained the sun to rule 
the day, than it is that he intends his people to be 
" the salt of the earth " and " the light of the 
world ;" and if this be their collective capacity, obli- 
gation must be proportionately on each individual. 
This, let us hope, each member of the Church is be- 
ginning to realize to be the truth. God grant that 
this conviction may become universal ! For a num- 
ber of years past many religious societies have 
seemed to think that no considerable number of souls 
could be brought to Jesus without either a "sensa- 
tional preacher " or the presence and labors of " a 
praying band," and " according to their " unbelief 
has it been " unto them." Only when one or both 
of these have been employed have they had any 
prosperity, and that which has thus been secured has 
been the most evanescent. Not that many persons 
have really been brought to Christ through these 
peculiar instrumentalities, but that only the few are 
saved to the future service and honor of the Church 
because the membership itself did not travail in 
spirit for their regeneration, and hence there was 



84: Sermons and Reminiscences. 

not, nor could there be, any real sympathy existing 
between the old and the newly converted. Behold 
those men and women of God I There are from fif- 
teen to twenty of them, and they constitute one tenth 
of the society or Church to which they belong. 
They are met in their usual place of prayer. God is 
with them, and is giving them an intense desire for 
the salvation of the wicked. Occasionally one yields, 
and, taking his place with them, they " rejoice with 
joy unspeakable and full of glory." He feels at 
home with them, and they with him. Now suppose 
a large majority of said society were in the spiritual 
condition of the few, and that God should propor- 
tionately bless their labors and honor their faith, 
then there would be eight or ten converted where 
there is but one, and those duplicating themselves in 
others brought to Christ, how the triumphs of the 
cross would multiply, and the increasing numbers 
found and brought to Jesus ! God's name would 
soon be known, and his praises sung "from the 
rivers unto the ends of the earth." Then our chil- 
dren's children, to the latest generations, might be 
hopefully reckoned as constituting " the saved of the 
Lord " in " the ages to come ;" and the rulers and 
the people of all nations, learning war no more, but 
dwelling in peace, and hoping for heaven, "filled 
with love and crowned with glory," the change 
from earth to heaven would hardly be perceptible. 



Mission of the Church and Ministry. 85 

Enoch's way of going there would become common, 
while the numbers getting there would be prodigious. 
Ay, this bringing men "to Jesus" is far-reaching in 
its consequences, both to the bringers and to those 
who are brought, and let me assure you there is no 
one who comes to Jesus but that he would delight to 
put honor upon by helping him to bring some other 
lost one to him. O if every believer in Christ would 
say, with Isaiah, "Here am I; send me," it would 
not be long before he would have the honor of bring- 
ing his " own brother " or dear friend to Christ the 
Lord. Please, dare to do what " Saul of Tarsus " did 
even before he found " peace in believing," and sin- 
cerely say, u Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? " 
And as he shall direct, go in his name and find some 
one " who is waiting in Jesus to live," and bring him 
with winning voice and yearning heart 

"where flows the blood 
That bought your guilty souls for God," 

and stay with him until he finds his pardon and his 
peace. If you have really " found the Christ," if you 
have had but " a day with him," you must regard it 
as the greatest honor and of the highest importance 
to a sound his glories forth," and to give yourselves 
to the work of seeking those who know not him, 
" whom to know aright is life eternal." 



86 Sermons and Reminiscences. 



NECESSITY OF REVIVALS. 

"0 Lord, revive thy work." — Hab. iii, 2. 

THE work which the prophet prays may be re- 
vived is not man's work, but God's work. And 
yet he did not mean God's general work, but his work 
in particular. Not his creative or providential work, 
but his work of grace and salvation. In this we see, 
1. The work of conviction. This includes a 
knowledge of sin and a painful sense of sin. Many 
know that they are sinners, but few, compara- 
tively, feel that they are. As the universal testi- 
mony of men establishes the fact that fire burns, so 
the unimpeachable testimony of revelation proves all 
men to be sinners ; but, as no man knows how it 
pains to be burned until he has experienced it, so no 
one knows what it is to be a sinner until he feels it. 
If a sun-glass is held in a right position the rays of 
light are brought to a focus, where almost any in- 
flammable substance will be set on fire, but you may 
hold an equally perfect glass toward the sun, and if 
you keep moving it, it will never be the means of 
setting any thing on fire. Now, what the sun-glass 
is to the production of fire, attention is in effecting a 
painful sense of sin ; yet, as sun-glasses would con- 



Necessity of Revivals. 87 

tribute nothing toward producing fire in the absence 
of the sun, so real conviction for sin could never be 
without the silent but powerful operations of the 
Holy Spirit. The truth presented to the mind by 
the word of the Lord must be taken by the Spirit 
and burned into the conscience. The process is pain-' 
ful, but the result justifies it. A company of men 
wrecked on a frozen island may be somewhat con- 
scious of their perilous condition immediately, but it 
is not until the gnawings of hunger, premonitive of 
starvation, are felt that they can fully appreciate an 
ample supply of food, or, becoming stupefied by the 
cold, even to insensibility, they are brought back to 
consciousness by the Lord's sending the lightning, 
and thus setting on fire the wreck of the ship and 
affording them temporal salvation. Now, we are all 
wrecked on the continent of sin. More than eight- 
een hundred years ago Jesus, the " Sun of Right- 
eousness," lighted a fire in the East, whose light has 
radiated westward, revealing u the habitations of cru- 
elty," and warming into moral sensibility millions 
ready to perish. Brethren, this light has reached us. 
Its beams have melted our hearts, and hence we say, 
Pour forth thy piercing rays, thou glorious light, and 
let them penetrate sinners here, that the work of con- 
viction may be thorough and complete. 

2. The work of conversion is the work of the 
Lord. We use the word in its highest, broadest 



88 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

sense. "We use it as embracing all the doings of 
grace in and for the soul of man. Is the soul 
penitent and believing? Is it justified and sancti- 
fied ? Has it power over sin ? Does it hate and 
loathe it ? Is it joyful in hope ? Is it patient 
in tribulation ? Does it return good for evil, and 
blessing for cursing ? Has it ardent longings for the 
salvation of others ? Does it sigh for the holiness of 
heaven ? Is its conversation there ? In a word, is 
God's will its law and its delight ? If so, it is born 
of God. God has been and is now at work in it, and 
these results we call conversion. Contemplate its 
subject just for a moment. There he is with mind 
renewed, and an immortal nature transformed in all 
its powers. His thoughts and affections are turned 
from the earthly unto the heavenly. See, he is bath- 
ing himself in " life's healing fountain," that, with 
rejuvenated powers, he may labor for the salvation 
of those who are in peril. Listen to his prayers, in- 
dited by the Spirit. How he pleads for the release 
of the captive ! What words of encouragement and 
hope he pours into the ears of the desponding ! 
How he weeps with those who weep, how he rejoices 
with those who rejoice ! All this is the legitimate 
fruit of conversion, and is used by the Spirit in car- 
rying on that glorious work in this world of sin and 
death, for God evidently intended the experiences of 
men to be a Gospel to others. 



Necessity of Eevivals. 89 

Let us now consider some facts why a revival of 
God's work is greatly to be desired. And, 

1. As conversion follows conviction, in some sense, 
as effect does the cause, it is evident there must be 
convictions before there will be conversions. A re- 
vival of the work of conviction is necessary to a re- 
vival of the work of conversion ; at least, so neces- 
sary that if it could be made to appear that there 
would be no more convictions, it would not be diffi- 
cult to prove that there would be no more conver- 
sions, for no man ever tied " for refuge to lay hold 
on the hope set before him" until he saw and felt 
himself exposed to impending ruin. 

No more conversions! How do such words fall 
on a Christian's ear? How they affect his heart! 
How the clouds gather and lower over his most cher- 
ished anticipations, his fondest hopes ! He beholds 
the Church depopulating, as one after another of her 
members, in quick succession, is swept off by " the 
dark wing of death's angel," until the work is fin- 
ished, until all are gone. Then what a scene floats 
into his vision ! It is a moral desolation over which 
an angel might weep. No Sabbath, no sanctuary, no 
worshiping assembly, no family altar, no secret 
prayer, no devout meditation, no study of the Bible, 
no Sabbath-school, no song of praise, and not one 
yearning, loving, sympathizing heart, in the whole 
family of man; but, instead of these, congregated 



90 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

enemies striving for the mastery ; national collisions, 
neighborhood quarrels and family uproars, horrid 
oaths, fearful imprecations, no truth, but universal 
falsehood ; and hell, heart-deep, spread over the 
world ! But alas ! alas ! the attempt is vain. Imag- 
ination never conceived images of the ruinous and of 
the terrible sufficient to any more than feebly indi- 
cate the condition of the world without the Church 
of the living God in it. For, with all her " spots 
and wrinkles," with ail her tardy movements toward 
the fulfillment of her mission, with all her backslid- 
ings, imperfections, and sins, she is still " the salt of 
the earth, and the light of the world." Feeble as is 
her strength, she is yet going forth " from conquering 
unto conquest." Cold as is her heart, it still sends 
the vital currents forth, by which more than a hun- 
dred thousand souls are annually warmed into the 
life of Jesus. Half -closed as are her eyes, she al- 
ready beholds " the mountain of the Lord's house . . . 
established in the top of the mountains, . . . and all 
nations " flowing " unto it ;" and weak as is her faith, 
it enfolds this vast and glorious consummation. By 
the continuance of the revival spirit individuals, 
communities, and nations shall be brought into the 
kingdom of Christ, and the desolate places shall be 
made glad for them. Thus it is seen why a revival 
of the work of God is greatly to be desired. It is 
the order ordained of God to perpetuate his Church 



Necessity of Revivals. 91 

on earth, and to diffuse the saving element of the 
Gospel among the nations. 

Let us now give some thought to the means by 
which a revival may be promoted. And, 

1. From the text we infer that prayer is one 
means, and the experience of Christians proves the 
inference legitimate. In the winter of 1853 and 
1854 Deacon Edsall, James Rosell, and J. B. Dewitt 
entered into a covenant to pray for a revival of 
God's work in their community. Satan in that lo- 
cality seemed to have things just to his liking. The 
wickedness of the wicked had become great, the 
love of many had waxed cold, but these men of 
prayer met and prayed once a week for six weeks 
in succession. At their seventh meeting another 
man of prayer joined them. God poured out his 
Spirit upon them ; and in a short time it was 
evident that a general awakening was spreading 
through the community, and fully seventy souls were 
believed to be converted to God. In the fall of 
1851 I was appointed to the Frenchtown Charge, 
(now Liberty Corners and Asylum,) then just formed 
out of parts of Towanda Charge and Cherry mission. 
Revs. T. M'Elheney and R. D. Brooks, of precious 
memory, had labored there the previous year, and 
wonderful displays of saving power had been wit- 
nessed. I began my labors then with the feeling 
that my chief work must be to try and feed the 



92 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

lambs of the flock, and that little could be expected 
in the way of bringing those to Christ who had with- 
stood the gracious and powerful influences of the pre- 
ceding year. Yet so it was, that as these converts 
were fed and strengthened, they would unite their 
prayers in behalf of some hardened sinner, nor cease 
until he yielded to be saved by grace. Then they 
would fix their faith and prayer and " labor of love " 
on some other soul, and in this way, chiefly, about 
fifty were brought into the light of salvation that 
year. Not only in the long winter-night prayer- 
meetings, but in those of the short summer evenings, 
even in haying and harvesting, souls were prayed into 
conviction and into a new life also. I have noted 
that souls converted under such influences are very 
likely to continue faithful. Brethren, were we all 
united to Christ by faith, just as we should be, what 
wonders would be wrought ! O for a baptism into 
one spirit ! Infinite Father, send it upon us ! But, 

2. Witnessing for Jesus is another means promo- 
tive of a revival. A degree of importance attaches 
to this which, I fear, is overlooked by many. Just 
think. The last words of Christ to the apostles re- 
late to this very important duty. Read and ponder 
them : " And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in 
Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto 
the uttermost part of the earth." In Acts xxvi, 16, 
we learn that St. Paul was called to be " a witness " as 



Necessity of Revivals. 93 

well as a minister. Unto this work every believer in 
Jesus is called, and the Spirit impresses the message 
he is to bear to others on his renewed heart. Would 
that all were faithful in delivering it ! To speak well 
of a friend who has helped us in the time of need is 
not only a duty, but a pleasure also. Think of the 
help Jesus has rendered us — such help as no other 
being could or would render, and shall we not con- 
fess it? Will we not take pleasure in proclaim- 
ing it to the world ? How shall this be done most 
effectually ? Let me tell you how. Enforce the 
testimony of your lips with a Christ-like spirit ex- 
hibited in your lives. Were you very ill, and had 
you found a spring of water possessing marked me- 
dicinal properties, you would not only tell of it, but 
use it also. If you have found Christ very precious, 
you cannot fully do your duty by simply saying this ; 
you must keep going to him, that others, seeing you 
go, may be induced to go likewise. And remember, 
the greater spiritual health you manifest the mightier 
will be the motive you give them to do so without 
delay. What we would specifically teach at this 
point is this : That professors of religion should wit- 
ness for Christ in their lives as well as in word, by 
being controlled in buying and selling, and in all 
their intercourse with the world, by the principle of 
love to God and love to man. Should this practice 
generally obtain, how effectually would the tide of 



94 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

infidelity be stayed and " the hearts of the disobe- 
dient be turned to the wisdom of the just," and con- 
victions and conversions be multiplied ! 

Many large cities are furnished with water from 
great reservoirs, constructed at vast expense, and at 
considerable distances from these cities. By means 
of larger and lesser pipes this element is borne to the 
numerous residences and places of business. Now, if 
these pipes corrode so that they leak, or if obstruc- 
tions get into them so that the now is turned in an- 
other direction, the supply is cut off, and the inhab- 
itants are left in destitution. The Revelator tells us 
of a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, 
proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb ; 
and we sing, 

"Its streams the whole creation reach;" 

but the question arises, How are those streams reach- 
ing the whole creation ? How, but through the 
Church of God ! Hence every member should con- 
sider himself a section of the great spiritual medium 
through which God designs the great life-element to 
flow. Has it stopped with you, brother ? or has your 
life and example so obstructed it that no one is 
blessed through you or by you ? If this be so, for 
Christ's sake, for your own sake, and for the sake of 
others, let this stream run through your heart and out 
into your life, gladdening them, and making others 



Necessity of Revivals. 95 

glad. A profession of but ordinary attainments in 
the religion of Jesus, if fully corroborated by the 
daily life, is far better in its influence upon others 
than the highest profession lacking the edge and the 
power which a blameless life would give it. 

3. The faithful preaching of the Gospel is promo- 
tive of a revival of the work of God. " It pleased 
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them 
that believe." There are few men who can loner 
withstand the burning eloquence of an earnest, soul- 
loving and sin-hating ministry. Hence, comparative- 
ly very few unconverted men are in the habit of 
regularly attending such a ministry. The class of 
truths they utter are too searching, scathing, and dis- 
turbing for either their comfort or convenience, and, 
unless they at once yield, it is but seldom that the 
spiritual archer finds them within reach of his ar- 
rows. In nothing else do wicked men exhibit such 
great cowardice as they do on the subject of personal 
religion. 

Wicked men, and even women, dare drink "the 
dark beverage of hell," and sell "distilled damna- 
tion " to young men and boys, and mingle with 
gamblers, whose dreams are of beggared families and 
ruined victims of their midnight deeds, and yet they 
are too cowardly to daily read God's holy word, or to 
faithfully attend and prayerfully listen, every Sab- 
bath, to the fearless preaching of the Gospel ; for, just 



96 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

about as soon as the truth begins to hurt, they either 
stay away or go, resolved that they will give no at- 
tention. To such the minister is only interesting as 
he deals in " glittering generalities," and manages to 
make this type of hearer feel that he has no special 
message for him. Of course such preaching never 
contributes to a revival of the work of the Lord. 
On the contrary, it is earnest, truthful preaching, 
close and heart-searching, what may be called chain- 
lightning preaching, which scathes and burns its ut- 
terances into the souls of men — preaching that holds 
the law to the sinner and the sinner to the law until 
he can appreciate an invitation to come to Christ 
sent to his heart all the way from Calvary. It is 
preaching which is " in demonstration of the Spirit 
and of power," that begets solicitude that stirs the 
Church and moves men to mightily cry for mercy. 
It is such preaching that helps inaugurate a revival. 
Under such preaching we have some hundreds and 
thousands brought to Christ and started in the way 
to heaven. And thus shall it be in every place 
where God has a people, where they shall be bap- 
tized into one spirit, and go out after sinners — " A 
flame of love, a flood of tears." Hence, finally, the 
agency of the Holy Spirit is essential in the revival 
of God's work. Strictly speaking, there is no pray- 
ing, witnessing, or preaching without it. It is the 
Spirit which starts and keeps this religious enginery 



Necessity of Revivals. 97 

in motion. It holds the relation to a revival that the 
rain does to the germination and maturing of vegeta- 
ble productions. Allow an illustration. The farmer 
goes into his field of young corn. It is vigorous and 
wears the hues of health. He is elated with the 
promise of an abundant yield. Time passes on, the 
sun pours its vertical rays upon it ; but as the rain is 
denied, it begins to wither. Again the farmer goes 
forth to view it. He feels sad and disheartened, and 
says, " I shall have no corn." But, lo, a cloud ap- 
pears in a favorable locality, and the voice of the 
thunder proclaims an approaching shower. The 
cloud thickens, the rain descends, his corn is revived, 
and with it his hopes for an abundant crop. Ay, it 
is the rain of grace, the effusion of the Holy Syjirit, 
which must germinate the seeds of truth that have 
been sown by faithful preaching in the hearts of the 
people, or attention will never ripen into conviction, 
conviction into conversion, and conversion into a per- 
fect Christian life, rendering its subject "meet for 
the inheritance of the saints in light." 

Brethren, do you go to the sanctuary every Sab- 
bath praying for the Holy Ghost ? Do your prayers 
while there constantly ascend for his descent upon 
the impenitent ? It should be so. It must be, or 
their blood will yet be found on your skirts. In the 
name of God " take hold on strength." Sinners 
should be converted by hundreds in the sanctuaries 



98 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

of God every Sabbath, and would be if all who go to 
them as professors of religion were believing, as they 
might, for such results. "If ye then, being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children; 
how much more will your heavenly Father give the 
Holy Spirit to them that ask him ? " 

When the atmosphere of our Churches becomes 
charged with the Holy Spirit, given in answer to 
united believing prayer, revivals shall be the rule and 
not the exception, and all the gates of Zion shall be- 
come praise. Every company of believers steadily 
worshiping together may hero decide the question, 
When shall this thing be ? 

" Spirit of the living God, 

In all thy plenitude of grace, 
Where'er the foot of man hath trod, 

Descend on our apostate race. 

Give tongues of fire, and hearts of love 

To preach the reconciling word ; 
Give power and unction from above, 

Where'er the joyful sound is heard." 



Kesuerection of Dokcas. 99 



RESURRECTION OF DORCAS. 

" And it was known throughout all Joppa ; and many believed in 
the Lord." — Acts ix, 42. 

THUS concludes an account of the death and the 
resurrection of a disciple of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, " named Tabitha, which by interpretation is 
called Dorcas." We think it to be illustrative of the 
sinner, and of the influence his spiritual resurrection 
should have on others. It is said, (verse 37,) "that 
she was sick, and died." She was therefore dead, 
and if dead, she was unconscious of the various ob- 
jects of interest surroundiug her. A husband's wail- 
ing grief, fond children's ringing laugh and innocent 
prattle wake not her soul to sorrow or to joy. The 
trembling, bended forms of father and mother, whose 
approach she used to greet with veneration and love, 
now come near and pass away without a look of rec- 
ognition. The glorious sun, in whose light she once 
rejoiced, now falls on her as on the senseless marble. 
The melody of song which once repeated itself on 
the chords of her heart, pass over unheeded and un- 
heard. She wakes not to any sentient delight, she 
moves not at the approach of any catastrophe. She 
is listless, still, and dead. Thus is it with men 



100 Sekmons and Reminiscences 

" dead in trespasses and sins." Beautiful scenery 
made by the hand divine, clouds of golden drapery, 
skies of eternal blue lit up with stars and traversed 
by the moon, waters and lands, streams and seas and 
vales and mountains, all bearing the impress of wis- 
dom and of power, are disregarded by the impeni- 
tent, and he is, seemingly, as unhappy as he could 
have been had God made the earth with but one 
mountain, one river, one tree, one flower, and one 
star to shine on them from the heavens. 

The scenes of the garden and of the cross, in which 
the God-man is the hero, and the redemption of the 
world is the object, do not move him, and utterly fail 
to win his love. Even the flight of time, with its 
precious freight of golden opportunity ; the end of 
probation, with its stamp of doom ; the decisions of 
the final judgment, and the terrible retributions that 
lie beyond it, involving banishment from God, from 
hope and heaven, the gnawings of an undying worm, 
and the beatings of an endless storm, fail to excite 
his fears, or to prompt him to pray. O he is dead, 
and his insensibility proclaims it. What shall be 
done to bring him to life? The good must help 
him, for God has ordained that men should be saved 
by men. 

Even in the resurrection of Dorcas, Peter acted an 
important part. Two men were sent for Peter, " de- 
siring him that he would not delay to come," who, 



Resurrection of Dorcas. 101 

when lie had arrived, " kneeled down, and prayed ; 
and turning him to the body, said, Tabitha, arise. And 
she opened her eyes : and when she saw Peter, she 
sat up. . . . And when he had called the saints and 
widows, he presented her alive." The conversion of 
c * Saul of Tarsus " is also an example in point. His 
falling exercise was not his conversion, for after that 
" the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, 
and it shall be told thee what thou must do : " when 
the Lord commissioned a certain disciple, named An- 
anias, to perform this work, who, " putting his hands 
on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord (even Jesus, that 
appeared unto thee in the way as thou earnest) hath 
sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be 
filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there 
fell from his eyes as it had been scales : and he re- 
ceived sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized." 
Thus is it in the conversion of sinners in this day. 
Awakened they may be, and frequently are, by the 
direct operations of the Holy Spirit, without hu- 
man instrumentality, but they are always brought 
into the light of salvation in answer to the prayers 
of the pious, or by their Christian instruction and 
counsel. 

God could have raised Dorcas as easily without 
Peter's presence or prayers as with, but he did not 
elect to do so ; or, without the laying on of the hands 
of Ananias on the head of Saul, he could have 



102 Sekmons and Reminiscences. 

removed the scales from his eyes, and filled him with 
the Holy Ghost. So, in the conversion of sinners; 
but, delighting to put honor on his people, he em- 
ploys them in the work of faith, in the labor of love, 
constraining them to say, " "We then, as workers to- 
gether with him, beseech you also that ye receive not 
the grace of God in vain." 

Christian! God has been, and is still, convincing 
men of sin ; but where is your faith, and where your 
willingness to go at the bidding of the Master, and 
tell them that he waits to be gracious ? You know 
that they are spiritually dead, and that God has called 
upon you to the work of bearing to them the mes- 
sage of life, and that in doing so he places great, 
honor on you ; but you suffer a false and destructive 
modesty to hold you back, to close your lips, and to 
keep you dumb amid the ravages and the multiplying 
victims of moral death. 

It is not enough that you do no harm, for you 
profess to be followers, imitators of Him who went 
about doing good. Peter was sent for when Dorcas 
had died, and he came and prayed. You have been 
sent for, or called to work in God's vineyard, and 
God, by the death of every unsaved sinner, is saying 
to you, " Go, and before the living die, as others have, 
tell them of the love of Jesus, tell them of hope and 
of heaven." Go and do this in God's name, and he 
will see that they hear you ; or, if they will not, that 



Resurrection of Dorcas. 103 

the guilt will be on their own souls, and that you do 
not lose your reward. 

But the results of this case of resurrection and 
those flowing from the spiritual resurrection of sin- 
ners claims our attention. It is said of Dorcas that 
" she opened her eyes ; and when she saw Peter, she 
sat up." The heart throbs, the pulse beats, the eyes 
flash with intelligence, the ear listens, the muscles 
and nerves move, and she is again a creature of life, 
a being of beauty, and of loveliness. Sweet voices 
fall upon her ears, the forms and features of friends 
meet her gaze, and this woman, who "was full of 
good works," goes forth rejoicing in a new life, it 
may be now the more sweet because of the tem- 
porary deprivation. Blessed result! So is it with 
the sinner, when his night of moral death has passed. 
His heart leaps for joy ; his moral sensibilities are all 
alive ; his eyes and ears, now opened, 

"Sees God in the clouds, 
Or hears him in the wind." 

Nay, more, he fixes his delightful gaze on Cal- 
vary, and listens enraptured to the sweet strains of 
mercy coming all the way to his heart from the " ex- 
cellent glory." He arises into a new life, and goes 
forth to act for God and humanity. As in the case 
of the resurrection of Dorcas, " many believed in the 
Lord," so the conversion of a sinner results not only 



104: Sekmons and Reminiscences. 

in making him happy, but has a direct tendency to 
bring others into the life of Christ. 

The resurrection of Dorcas was a verity. She was 
really dead, and was absolutely brought back to life ; 
and so evident was this to those acquainted with her, 
that " many believed in the Lord." The actual con- 
version, or spiritual resurrection, of a sinner is so evi- 
dently the work of God, and the change is so great 
and radical, that others are not only led to say, " This 
is the Lord's doing," but they are led to seek this 
power on their own hearts. The legitimate infer- 
ence is this: "If God is good enough to save my 
friend, who was a sinner, surely there is ground to 
hope that he will save me if 1, like him, but seek his 
saving power." 

This element of influence is found in almost all 
departments of human society. Men are controlled 
in their opinions, their habits, and their religion by 
the views, conduct, and religion of others. This 
principle obtains also among men in regard to the 
various vices and sins that degrade mankind and pre- 
pare them for the detestable society of the obscene, 
the licentious, the profane, the drunken, and of dev- 
ils forever. Some will seek to justify themselves for 
doing ' any thing that is low and mean and hellish 
with the plea, " It is the custom of society." Now, 
this element in society, thank God ! may be used for 
noble and holy purposes. He has evidently designed 



Resurrection of Dorcas. 105 

that it should be, for he says, " Let your light so 
shine before men, that" others, seeing "your good 
works," may be led to " glorify your Father which is 
in heaven." I have heard lumbermen tell of trailing 
logs down the difficult mountain slope. Sometimes 
a single team moves forty, and even fifty, in the 
narrow, crooked path which has been made for them 
to travel in. The logs are connected by short chains 
and hooks or dogs. The team is hitched to the fore- 
most, and as that moves, the next starts, and that 
starts a third, and thus a whole trail is moved to its 
destination on the bank of the stream. Thus I have 
seen it in some communities. A large number of 
persons, connected by invisible chains of influence, 
have been drawn to the waters of salvation, and have 
been made partakers of the divine nature ; and thus 
will it become to be in all places, when the influences 
which have sundered these delicate connections shall 
be disregarded, and the broken links shall be re- 
welded by a divinely germinating power. 

Dorcas had evidently gathered about her many 
friends, for it is not only said that she " was full of 
good works and alms-deeds which she did," but that 
" all the widows stood by him [Peter] weeping, and 
showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, 
while she was with them." Now, each of these may 
have been representatives of a different class, and 
thus the blessed news of her resurrection was com- 



106 Seemons and Reminiscences. 

municated ; and we may reasonably suppose one and 
another and another saying to their friends, " A 
friend of mine, by the name of Dorcas, was sick the 
other day and died, and the Lord, by his servant 
Peter, restored her to life — absolutely resurrected 
her. Is he not a good Lord? A mighty Jesus? 
Let us believe in him." And thus " it was known 
throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the 
Lord." 

Believers in Jesus ! you have been raised by the 
power of God from a death of sin; you have re- 
joiced in a new life. God intends that you should 
be instruments of life to others. Has the connec- 
tion between you and the Fountain of Life been 
broken off ? If so, no wonder that your uncon- 
verted children and neighbors do not come to Christ 
and be saved. God help you to prayerfully examine 
this point, and to see that you have constantly a hold 
on Christ! This secured, he will be drawing you 
nearer and still nearer to himself, and as you move 
toward him, you shall see others coming with you, 
and many shall believe in the Lord. 

Then, from the head of the throng, you shall be 
heard to shout, " They come ! Bless God, they 
come ! " And from the rear the joyful response 
shall roll, "We come! O God, we come!" In 
conclusion, allow me to remind you that it was the 
faith of Peter, connecting him with the source of 



Resurrection of Dorcas. 107 

life, which brought the resurrection power to Dor- 
cas' dead body, and that it is your faith in Christ 
which must so connect you with him, as to make you 
mediums of spiritual life to others. 

" I ask them whence their victory came : 

They, with united breath, 
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb, 

Their triumph to his death. 

They marked the footsteps that he trod ; 

His zeal inspired their breast ; 
And, following their incarnate God, 

Possess the promised rest. 

Our glorious Leader claims our praise 

For his own pattern given ; 
While the long cloud of witnesses 

Show the same path to heaven." 



108 Sermons and Reminiscences. 



BRETHREN COMMENDED TO GOD. 

" And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his 
grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance 
among all them which are sanctified." — Acts xx, 32. 

CHRISTIANS are brethren. They are born of 
the same Spirit, supported by the same might, 
contending against the same enemies, gaining the 
same victories, encouraged by the same hope, trust- 
ing in the " one Saviour," and bound for the same 
glorious and eternal heaven. Such are the subjects 
of the apostle's commendation, " Brethren, I com- 
mend you to God." It is as if he had said or 
thought, " You are weak, but he is almighty ; you 
are ignorant, but he fully knows ; you have formi- 
dable foes, but he will help you to conquer and sub- 
due them." " I commend you to God," not to the 
Yirgin Mary, nor even to the angels, though " excel- 
ling in strength." You will need help superior to 
any that saint or angel can afford — the help of the 
mighty One, and who is ever present in time of 
need. " To God," therefore, omnipotent and omni- 
present, whose goodness is equal to his power, "I 
commend you." 

You see he greatly desired his brethren to be 



Brethren Commended to God. 109 

well cared for and fully furnished against every 
assault and every emergency, and his comprehen- 
sive Christian mind, his large experience, and his 
yearning heart of love would not allow him to 
stop short of God. It is pleasant, and often prof- 
itable, to have tried and true friends to accompany 
us as we are making life's jonrney ; but at its close, 
when help is needed most, they always utterly fail 
us. Not, it may be, for want of willingness on their 
part to go any farther, but from a consciousness of 
inability to befriend us should they go. How pain- 
fully keen is the conviction that there is a point be- 
yond which our friends cannot go with us — a point 
at which they must stop, while we pass on. Now St. 
Paul would have believers still attended at that 
point, and therefore " commends them to God." He 
also commends them " to the word of his grace." 
How expressive ! how appropriate ! " The word of 
his grace." Surely it is a gracious word. It brings 
to men the thoughts of a God of grace, and makes 
them familiar with these thoughts, so that amid life's 
vicissitudes they are instructed and comforted and 
wonderfully sustained while laboring to work out the 
problem of their destiny. What a marvelous book is 
the word of God's grace ! It is at once both the old- 
est and newest book in the world. It is the only 
authentic history of the race to which it has been 
given. From it we learn more perfectly what men 



110 Sekmons aot) Keminiscences. 

have been, what they now are, and what they will be, 
than from all other sources of information put to- 
gether. 

The efforts of grace to save men are nowhere 
else so faithfully and fully recorded as in the 
word of God, while the achievements of grace, as 
chronicled there, constitutes a powerful incentive to 
men of all ages and nations to yield themselves sub- 
jects to its bloodless victories. One of the inspired 
writers begins as if he were about to give us, in 
round numbers, the grand aggregate of those re- 
deemed and saved by grace, but closes with the sig- 
nificant declaration, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a 
great multitude, which no man could number, of all 
nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood 
before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with 
white robes, and palms in their hands ; and cried 
with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God 
which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." 
Now, grace saved every one in that innumerable 
multitude — saved them from sin, saved them unto 
holiness, saved them here, and saved them into 
heaven. O grace, thou art wonderful! O grace, 
thou art mighty ! And may all who are commended 
to thee yield themselves to thy peaceful reign, thy 
saving might ! 

Please, now, listen to the apostle's reasons for com- 
mending his brethren " to God, and to the word of 



Brethren Commended to God. Ill 

his grace." The first reason is implied in the dec- 
laration, " which is able to build you up." As if he 
had saicj, Brethren, you are all, by sin, in a ruined 
state, but the word of the Lord or doctrine of grace 
is able to repair the ruins, to reconstruct and renew 
the disorganized faculties of your souls, and to make 
of them a temple sacred to God alone. "Able to 
build you up." He speaks of the Church collective- 
ly, the same which is styled by the Saviour " little 
flock," of little or imperfect love, of little or imper- 
fect strength, and all this because of their little or 
imperfect faith ; or, few in number, and these not 
men of great worldly distinction. But " the word," 
or doctrine " of grace," is able to make you large in 
faith, large in love, and of great strength in the ac- 
complishment of good. It is able to add to and 
greatly increase your numbers, and to bring to your 
fellowship and communion men of good intellects, 
and of great learning, and of commanding power and 
influence for good ; and, brethren, I rejoice that we 
live in the day when this declaration of the apostle is 
having a visible fulfillment. Christian ideas are now 
respected by all nations, because they have proven 
themselves to be the most powerful and beneficent to 
hold and control the minds of earth's teeming mill- 
ions. The material as well as the mental and moral 
wealth of the world is made to contribute toward 
the building up of the mountain of the Lord's house, 



112 Sermons and Kemtniscences. 

and to the beautifying of it in all lands. " The mus- 
tard-seed " Church, or kingdom, has broken the sur- 
face, rich dews from heaven have watered it, the 
blood of martyrs have nourished it, and already do 
its branches offer a place of shelter and of rest to the 
weary of every clime. Great Builder of the Church, 
save us as thy people from bounding our views by 
our senses ! How prone we are to do so. As in our 
great national conflict, when the Union forces were 
at the very throat of the rebellion, and when no 
truly loyal man would have been surprised to have 
heard that its heart had been pierced, there were 
those in almost every community who w^ould keep 
saying, " We are farther from the end now than at 
the beginning of the struggle ; we had better sue for 
peace, for we can never conquer." So is it with a few 
members of the Church in almost all localities. And 
all this because they have gotten into the habit of 
thinking that nothing can be done unless it is done 
in a hurry, thus denying to the God of grace what 
they are compelled to accord to the God of nature. 
Noah was a great man, and built a great ark, but he 
was one hundred and twenty years in doing it. 
Solomon, too, was a great man — great in wisdom and 
in wealth, and he builded a great temple, but he 
was a long time in completing it ; so God is a very 
long time in making a full-grown oak, or pine, or 
cedar. 



Brethren Commended to God. 113 

Our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world in the 
form of an infant, and though, at the age of twelve 
years, he declared that he must be about his Father's 
business, jet it was not until twenty-one years after 
that he so saw " of the travail of his soul" as to let 
fall on the ears of a perishing world the wonderful 
and glorious truth, " It is finished," and that other 
grandly significant one, "I am the resurrection and 
the life." Hence the true motto for the Christian is, 
" labor and wait." It is not from the size of the 
rain-drops, but from their number that we have the 
most to hope. So with the efforts of ministers and 
members of the Church of God. They are to be 
continued and repeated until the blessed result is ac- 
complished. None of us yielded to the first entreaty 
nor accepted the first invitation. "We all had heard 
many sermons, and our hearts had often been visited 
by the blessed Spirit, before we consented to occupy 
a place in God's spiritual temple, and yet we need 
much building up to be of very essential service 
there. But " the word of his grace is able to build 
you up." It is full of nourishment for our minds 
and hearts — full of promise — full of blessing. O, 
brethren, is it not true that we have too little to 
do with the Bible ? We do not search it as we 
should, and do not feed upon it as we might and 
ought. We need baptizing with its Spirit, our 
minds should be filled with its light, and our souls 



114 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

fortified with its truths. Thus furnished, God could 
use us to great and good advantage, and men would 
bless us in his name. 

Brethren making up the Sheldrake Society, will 
you consent to be thus " built up % " This, far more 
than where and what shall be my next field of labor, 
has had my care and solicitude, while I have been 
among you. This, far more than who shall be your 
next minister, should now have, and continue to 
have, a large place in your thoughts and prayers. 
Sometimes in building, bad or unsuitable timber is 
used, and in process of time the structure is disfig- 
ured or endangered by its presence in the building. 
When this is really known, wisdom dictates its re- 
moval, that its place may be filled with sound mate- 
rial. 

I believe the custom to be quite common among 
the prudent to examine their building occasionally, 
and when a decayed and worthless sill or post 
is found, to have it taken out at once. Trusting 
that you will allow these illustrations to have their 
influence on your future conduct as a Church, I can 
and do prayerfully "commend you to God, and to 
the word of his grace, which is able," not only " to 
build you up " attractively, but substantially and per- 
manently. Then your existence here as a religious 
body shall be a blessing to this community, and your 
example attract and draw the on-coming generations 



Brethren Commended to God. 115 

to Christ and goodness, to hope and to heaven. 
Come, then, brethren, " to God and to the word of 
his grace." Come to them reverently, and come to 
them daily ; come to them " for correction and in- 
struction in righteousness ;" come to them in all 
your afflictions and in all your temptations ; and in 
all your sadness and sorrows, come. "When the 
world censures and when it approves, when it curses 
and when it blesses, you will have need to come. 
Remember that in all the worlds which God has 
made and peopled, there is only One who fully 
knows and sympathizes with you, and that you are 
at liberty to cast " all your cares upon him, for he 
careth for you," and is willing to listen to your 
faintest whispered prayer. The Bible, which is 
" the word of his grace," is not only able to " build 
you up," to strengthen and beautify you as Chris- 
tians, but " to give you an inheritance among all 
them which are sanctified ; " for, brethren, that is the 
end, the grand object had in view, in building you 
up " among all them which are sanctified." "What a 
desirable place for an inheritance ! 

Were we permitted to select the place in which to 
possess an inheritance in this world, if we acted wise- 
ly, it would be in the midst of the purest society, 
where our children should see the least of sin and 
hear the least of wrong ; where the greatest numbers 
were educated and intelligent, and the fewest were 



116 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

ignorant and dull ; where virtne was most common, 
and its absence constituted the exception; where 
there was always the greatest abundance, and the 
very least of pinching poverty ; where health was 
general, and sickness seldom known; where the peo- 
ple lived the longest, happiest, lives, and where chil- 
dren rarely die. Ay, could such a place be found 
on the broad, green earth, we could there fix our 
inheritance, and there build and adorn our abodes. 
Such a choice, however, is not ours ; yet a better one 
is. It is in a region of cloudless skies, where no 
thunder-bolts are hurled and no lurid lightnings 
glare ; where no tempest's tread chills the heart 
with fear, and the red plowshare of war is never 
driven. It is in the land whose " inhabitants never 
say, I am sick." It is " among all them which are 
sanctified." In this inheritance are palms of victory 
and crowns of glory, immortal youth, and the fade- 
less and endless society of those who have been 
modeled after the fashion of Him "who is alto- 
gether lovely and the chief est among ten thousand." 
It comprises the possession of all things which the 
soul can explore and enjoy for ever and ever. 
There, there are the fields of light and the man- 
sions of rest. There, there the river of life and 
bliss eternal. "We meet and part here, but if " built 
up," as God and the word of his grace is able to 
build us up, we shall meet again, where the joy of 



Bketheen Commended to God. 117 

meeting will not be abated by thought of parting. 
For 

" There is a land mine eye hath seen 

In visions of enraptured thought, 
So bright, that all which spreads between 

Is with its radiant glories fraught. 

11 A land upon whose blissful shore 
There rests no shadow, falls no stain ; 

There those who meet shall part no more, 
And those long parted meet again." 



" Come to the land of peace ; 

From shadows come away ; 
Where all the sounds of weeping cease, 

And storms no more have sway. 

u Come to the bright and blest, 

Gathered from every land ; 
For here thy soul shall find its rest 

Amid the shining band. 

" ' Come to our peaceful home,* 

The saints and angels say, 
'Forsake the world, no longer roam; 

wanderer, come away.' " 



118 Sermons and Keminiscences. 



WHO HAVE GREAT PEACE. 

" Great peace have they which love thy law : and nothing shall 
offend them." — Psalm cxix, 165. 

THE loves and hates of man have the power to 
demonstrate their character. An order-loving 
and law-abiding citizen never complains of legal 
penalties. The truly pious find no fault with the 
authority which enjoins Christian duties, and holds 
them accountable for their faithful performance. 
Men who are seeking to obey God in all things do 
not try to prove there is no devil, no future general 
judgment, nor interminable hell for the finally im- 
penitent and unbelieving. If a man hates holiness, 
it is the most natural of all things for him to dislike 
what holiness does, and what holiness requires. If 
he loves purity, there is nothing which purity de- 
mands that does not at once have the sanction of his 
judgment, the consent of his will, and the sincere 
affections of his heart. He who loves his neighbor 
as he does himself, does not improve his necessities 
by lending him money at a ruinous rate of interest, 
nor by selling him liquors as a beverage which he 
knows have in them the elements of disease and 
death. We act toward the objects of our love as if 



Who Have Great Peace. 119 

we loved them, and toward the objects of our hate as 
if we hated them, unless we add to our other sins the 
sin of hypocrisy. 

1. To love or hate any thing, or being, implies the 
possession of some knowledge of it. Therefore those 
who love God's law must somewhat know his law; 
but this fact is not all that is implied. A large ma. 
jority of men in all Christian lands know his law ; 
they have read it, and have frequently heard it ex- 
pounded, yet most of them violate it, disregard it, or 
treat it with malignant scorn. Its presence in their 
minds tortures them, and every other subject of 
thought is preferred to it. Yet this law was made 
for mind. Why, then, this disrelish for it ? Was it 
not designed as the guide to mind ? — its regulating 
and controlling force ? It surely was. Why, then, 
is the mind so impatient of its directions and con- 
trol ? Is it because the law is wrong and the mind 
is right ? This cannot be ; but the reverse is true. 
The mind is wrong, the law is right; how shall 
they be made to harmonize ? Shall the law be 
changed to effect this? It knows no change, it is 
immutable. Hence, if they ever agree, it must be 
by a change in mind, known among us as a change 
of heart. Therefore, in loving God's law, is implied 
" the renewing of the mind," or " being created anew 
in Christ Jesus." Without this none of the subjects 
of sin ever did or ever could love such a law. It is 



120 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

simply a moral impossibility, demonstrated by the 
choice of men in their associations, subjects of 
thought, objects of affection, the books which they 
read, and their themes of conversation, and confirmed 
by the decision of him who says, " Ye must be born 
again." God's law is "holy, just, and good;" and 
until sin is dethroned, there is nothing in man that 
can possibly take pleasure in these perfections of the 
Godhead. He, therefore, who labors to convince 
himself or others that men cannot become good, is 
virtually trying to convince himself and others that 
they cannot be happy, inasmuch as goodness and 
happiness, or loving God's law and the possession 
of great peace, are inseparable. The great error of 
mankind is found in the fact that they look for the 
end while they use not the means. They wish to be 
happy, but expect, nay, hope, to become so without 
being good. They find fault with others and with 
God because they are not happy, and yet the blame 
is only with themselves ; and justice to themselves, to 
others, and to God, requires that they stop with self, 
leaving others and God without any censure. 

" If solid happiness we prize, 
Within ourselves this jewel lies ; 
And they are fools who roam." 

The heart in agreement with God is the great con- 
dition of happiness, and this agreement is certain and 
absolute if the heart be yielded to the influence of 



Who Have Great Peace. 121 

grace. This is the way to both know and love God's 
law. A soul thus yielding and renewed would no 
sooner have " one jot or tittle " of the law abrogated 
than it would assume the right to seize the reins of 
universal government. It has come to know that 
the " law prohibits nothing but what would do it 
harm, and that it requires nothing but what would 
do it good ; and its joyful testimony is, " O how love 
I thy law ! It is my meditation all the day." Our 
text further suggests, 

2. The happiness and stability of those " which 
love " God's law. Their happiness is indicated by 
the term, " Great peace." I know that it is with 
difficulty that we arrive at a clear and full apprehen- 
sion of such a degree of happiness as being attainable 
in this world, but I also know that such difficulty 
has been overcome, and that souls, long sin-tossed 
and troubled, have found this peace for which they 
sighed. I know that the spirit of the world is 
wicked and vile ; that the purest motives and the 
loftiest aims are met with censures, and treated with 
contempt and scorn ; that designing men would betray 
virtue and lure the innocent to ruin, and through 
pretended friendship, stab " the palpitating heart of 
Christ" in the persons of his children; but I also 
know that God lives, and that Jesus reigns ; that the 
door of mercy is wide open ; that faith in Christ still 
draws a saving power from him ; and that the soul of 



122 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

man, in agreement with God, has "great peace," in 
spite of wicked men and devils. If the declaration 
made in the text refers to the experience of those 
who lived contemporaneously with the psalmist, 
those who are living in these days of increasing 
light and of multiplying privilege should be 
ashamed of the faith that does not, will not, grasp 
it ; but, if spoken prophetically, then it , refers to 
those who love God's law under the Gospel dispen- 
sation, and all such are called upon to exhibit in their 
lives and actions this " great peace," or a satisfying 
happiness. Again, the cause producing this " peace " 
is sufficient to render it " great." It is, as we have 
seen, love of God's law. That is, of that law which 
is but a transcript of the divine mind and will, being 
in reality the embodiment of God's thoughts, feel- 
ings, purposes, and gracious acts on our behalf. 
Certainly, with a knowledge and love of these in- 
fixed in the soul, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, 
its happiness must be great. The fountain of its 
joys must be as deep and exhaustless as the nature 
of God, for it is in the character or nature of the 
object that we love that lias so very much to do 
with our happiness. Millions have loved other 
things instead of loving God's law, loved them in- 
tensely and loved them long, yet have all the while 
been miserable ; and other millions, fully advised of 
that fact, are doing the same, and those, too, are 



Who Have Gkeat Peace. 123 

miserable. Our love, like our faith, must rest on a 
proper object, or we are left in utter poverty of soul 
enjoyment. No man can love a devil enough to 
make him happy, for the more he loves him the less 
real happiness he will have; but not thus is it in 
loving holiness, justice, and goodness, essential ele- 
ments of God's law. He cannot send out his love to 
these without a rich return. 

As the color of animals is changed by being con- 
fined in darkness, and the color of fabrics by putting 
them into dyes, so the souls of men, in communion 
with "holiness, justice, and goodness," take upon 
them the "hues of heaven" or the element of 
such "great peace" as is "past understanding." 
And as a "man is known by the company that he 
keeps," so the character and degree of our happi- 
ness is determined by the nature of what we love, 
and the intelligent strength and constancy of that 
love. If we love God's law, our happiness will be 
becoming us. If we love it much and love it long, 
then we shall have "great peace," both as to degree 
and duration ; for be it remembered, that it is " they 
which love " his law who have " great peace," and 
not they who have loved it. It is in the present 
tense or time. It is while we love. This and this 
only is the duration of our peace. The stability of 
such as love God's law is indicated by the phrase, 
"Nothing shall offend them." Now, if you will 



124 Sermons and [Reminiscences. 

refer to your dictionary, you will see that one mean- 
ing of the word " offend " is " to cause to fall or 
stumble." I think it is in this sense the Saviour 
used the word when he said, " It were better for him 
that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he 
cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of 
these little ones." Our text teaches us that " nothing 
shall offend them," that is, cause them "to fall or 
stumble," " which love " God's law. 

Right here a sad conviction forces itself on my 
mind. It is this : The spiritual state of those (and 
"their name is legion") who, though they still 
profess the religion of Christ, are ever and anon 
offended, stumbled, and turned aside by the conduct 
of others. I ask my Bible and my God, Can it be 
possible that these love his law ? Or is it true that 
they have ceased to love it ? I know that it is ac- 
cording to sin for me to do wrong because others 
do it ; but I also know it is contrary to grace, and in 
violation of the law of love. I therefore know, if I 
stumble or fall for such a reason, that I do not love 
God's law. While I love that, let others do to me as 
they will, I shall not be offended. The Saviour has 
said, " Offenses must needs come," (not that there is 
a decreed necessity that they shall come, but the con- 
dition of the world is such that it is certain they 
will,) " but woe unto that man by whom the offense 
cometh." As the Lord Jesus will attend to those 



Who Have Geeat Peace. 125 

who offend, it is much more becoming us to pity and 
pray for them than to be turned aside by their con- 
duct. The matter of greatest moment to us is, under 
every provocation, to see that every thing is right 
between God and ourselves, and to labor to keep it 
so. This done, God will take care of those who offer 
offense ; and it may be • he will make us the honored 
and happy instruments in bringing them to " the ex- 
cellent knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord." In 
conclusion, I would say that in this subject, so briefly 
and imperfectly discussed, we have two important 
tests of Christian character — " great peace " and 
" great stability," but both depending on, and only 
continuing, while we love God's law. Please, Fa- 
ther, help us to exhibit these in our lives, and bring 
us at the end of life here unto eternal life in heaven 
where offenses do not come, and we will praise thee 
in Jesus, forever ! Amen. 

" Thy word is power and life ; 

It bids confusion cease, 
And changes envy, hatred, strife, 

To love, and joy, and peace." t 



126 Sermons and Reminiscences. 



WHAT IS HIS WILL? 

" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? " — Acts ix, 6. 

ME. LOCKE justly remarks, " The first inquiry 
of a rational being should be, Who made me ? 
The second, Why was I made ? Who is my Creator, 
and what is his will ? Saul of Tarsus substantially 
made that inquiry, and, though very few unconverted 
men in our day make it, yet it is as important for 
them to know what is the will of God respecting 
them, as it was for Saul to know what it was re- 
specting him. The will of God is the rule of life 
for all men, and therefore it is as obligatory upon 
one as upon another to seek a knowledge of it for 
himself, for, while it is manifestly the will of God 
that all men should repent and believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, it is not always clear what specific work 
the Lord would have performed by certain individ- 
uals. Saul had received a thorough literary educa- 
tion at Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a kind of second 
Athens, and a theological one at Jerusalem, " under 
the most eminent doctor of the age and nation, Ga- 
maliel." What, therefore, God would have him to 
do might differ prodigiously from that which he 
would have others to do. I think it reasonable to 



What is His Will ? 127 

suppose that Saul had this fact or idea in his 
mind when he made the inquiry constituting our 
text ; but, with a degree of moral heroism character- 
istic of the man, and worthy of all imitation, he 
dared to say, though " trembling and astonished," 
" Lord, what will thou have me to do ? " Are any 
of you curious to know what were his feelings when 
the full and final answer came, in the following 
words : " I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, 
to make thee a minister and a witness both of these 
things which thou hast seen, and of those things in 
the which I will appear unto thee ; delivering thee 
from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom 
now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them 
from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan 
unto God ;" you may get some idea of what his 
feelings were by pondering the burdened sentence : 
" Who, then, is sufficient for these things ? " You 
see his honest inquiry after the will of God was not 
disregarded ; but the answer made known to him 
duties, of whose performance he had not even 
dreamed. He conferred not, however, with flesh 
and blood, "was not disobedient to the heavenly 
vision," but went forth to his work, very soon learn- 
ing to love that which he had hated, and to labor to 
build up what he had sought to destroy ; and I do not 
doubt but that the world, the Church, and even 
^heaven is the richer for his having sought to know 



128 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

and to do the will of God. How very few, com- 
paratively, are where an honest inquiry after the 
will of God would bring them % 

The will of the parent is always consulted by the 
affectionate and obedient child, and the will of the 
employer is the rule of action to the employe. 
Hence the work to be done, as well as the manner 
of doing it, is not left to the judgment or taste of 
him who does it, but to his for whom it is to be 
done. If in these cases the will of others should be 
consulted and obeyed, surely the will of God should 
be respecting what we do, and how we do it. With 
a knowledge of his will, and the faithful doing of it, 
is linked our usefulness and happiness here and the 
full enjoyment of the soul in an eternal abode. 
"Blessed are they that do his commandments," 
which are but expressions of his will, " that they 
may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in 
through the gates into the city." Please remember, 
however, Saul cannot fight in David's armor, yet he 
may do it quite as well as David could in his. A 
practical disavowal of this fact has made a very great 
deal of mischief in the world, and even in the 
Church of God. The laymen may as truly be doing 
the will of God in farming, in the mechanic's shop, 
or in the merchant's store, as is the minister in his 
study, at the bedside of the suffering, or in the pul- 
pit, pleading with and persuading men to be recon- 



What is His Will ? 129 

ciled to God. He has ordained a variety of gifts in 
the Church and in the ministry, and in spirit if not 
in form one may as well, as truly agree with his will 
as the other. This fact should teach us the lesson of 
individual responsibility, or of personal accountabili- 
ty. And when this lesson becomes fully learned by 
men, then there will be a sincere and thorough seek- 
ing after a knowledge of God's will, and his will shall 
then be done on earth as it is now done in heaven. 
The great secret of human happiness is f ound in each 
individual's faithfully filling the place designated by 
the great and good Father of all. 

What a beautiful scene would such a condition of 
human society unfold ? How very much would it 
make earth resemble heaven ? It would constitute a 
field of beauty and loveliness, in which the most 
powerful and consecrated intellect might ruminate 
with the purest delight. But, my brother and sister 
in Christ, it is not so much our duty to contemplate 
that field, as it is to labor to help create it by seeking 
to know and to do God's will. 

God is going forth among the nations with the 
benevolent purpose fixed in his heart to bring the 
race back to holiness and happiness and himself, and 
instead of standing aloof and coldly looking on and 
finding fault with the grand and glorious enterprise, 
as the many do, let us the rather say, each for him- 
self, " Here, Lord, am I ; send me ;" and, earnestly 
9 



130 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

seeking to know in what specific department we 
should be employed, let us fill it to the best of our 
ability, and to the glory of his name. But some say 
it is very difficult to know what is really God's will 
that we should do. But can it be that he has a will 
respecting us that he is not willing we should know ? 
Especially, in regard to what we shall be, and what 
we shall do ? I cannot see this to be so, but am con- 
vinced that the great difficulty will be found to exist 
in our own wills, and in loving them so much, that 
we will not yield them to the control of his. And 
here, right here, brethren and friends, is manifested 
our folly and our sins. "We sigh for happiness and 
long for a spiritual life, but reject, by the might of 
our wills, the only adequate remedy for our misery 
and groveling position. 

"We moan in sadness, and burden the winds with 
our sighs and complaints, and all the while are bar- 
ring and bolting our hearts against the very approach 
of influences which would dry up the fountain of 
our sorrows and irrigate our souls with water from 
the streams which make glad the city of our God. 
"We murmur at our lot, and yet by the perversity of 
our own wills, pursue a course directly leading to one 
that is unrelieved by the presence of any comfort, 
and rendered cheerless by the absence of the feeblest 
star. In short, we will think and talk of earth so 
much, that we fail to listen to the whispers of love, 



What is His Will ? 131 

while heaven and its glories are forgotten, and we 
drift, we know not whither, just for the want of a 
willingness to let God, the Great, the Good, and the 
Wise, will for us. We look out upon society, and 
behold what sin has done, and what sin is doing, 
and too frequently say, " It cannot be helped ;" or, 
if some particular individuals were as they should be, 
there might be room for hope ; and it may be, with 
a heavy sigh, we turn away, and lose sight of their 
condition, until the knell of death awakens us to the 
awful fact that they have gone — gone as they lived ; 
gone without salvation. Then we are made to feel 
that if we had sought to know and do the will of 
God respecting them, we might have done them 
good and possibly, have influenced them to live for 
God and heaven. O, brethren, how many of you 
have become dwarfed for the want of proper relig- 
ious exercise ! How many, utterly destitute of spir- 
itual enjoyment for the want of a consistent devotion 
to the will of heaven ? The voice of God is still 
enunciating, " Go work in my vineyard ;" and also, 
"He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth 
fruit unto life eternal." There is still a place where 
crowns are worn and palms are given, but they are 
only worn and borne by those who have toiled up to 
victory. Let us, then, from this time, go forth ask- 
ing God, " What wilt thou have me to do ? " His 
approval here, and in the great and trying day ; the 



132 Sekmons and Reminiscences. 

good that we may be helped to do unto others, by 
turning them from sin and ruin, and the complete- 
ness of our own happiness in the glorified state, are 
among the motives which should influence us to come 
to such determination now. 

Time flies, and the roll of years is bearing us on 
and away from such opportunities of doing the will 
of God as will bless others. Can we endure the 
thought of so living as to leave the world no better 
than we found it ? On giving us a being here God 
gave us a mission also, and in the life and example of 
his Son we have the strongest indication of its char- 
acter, in that we are required to be like as he was — 
in spirit, in labor, in life. How we respect and ven- 
erate those noble patriots who linked their destiny 
with Washington's in fighting the battles of the Revo- 
lution, and how do we now look upon the remnant of 
the noble braves who went forth to help tear from 
traitor hands the " dear old flag " our fathers gave 
us, and the States which heads and hearts of treason 
would have formed into a confederacy for the perpe- 
tuity of American slavery ? We say, All honor to 
such men ! and pray that peace and plenty and every 
blessing be upon them and upon their posterity for 
ever and ever ! But we turn from these, and looking 
upon those who, committing their all to the cause of 
the despised Nazarene — the cause of humanity in 
every age and in every clime for all time, and for a 



What is His Will? 133 

coming eternity — and pronounce the decision just 
which declares, " They shall be mine in that day 
when I make up my jewels ! " Ah, to be associated 
with prophets and apostles, with the good of all ages 
and of all nations, in doing the will of God — this, this 
is honorable; this is glorious indeed. Dare, then, 
brethren and friends, to inquire after the will of the 
Lord. Inquire with a purpose to do it, and you shall 
be numbered with the good of the past, the present, 
and of the future, and by and by be assigned a place 
with the redeemed amid the glories of an eternal 
heaven. 

"Pleasure, and wealth, and praise, no more 
Shall lead my captive soul astray ; 

My fond pursuits I all give o'er ; 
Thee, only thee, resolved to obey: 

My own in all things to resign, 

And know no other will hut thine." 

" I wait thy will to do, 

As angels do in heaven; 
In Christ a creature new, 

Most graciously forgiven : 
I wait thy perfect will to prove, 
All sanctified by spotless love." 



134 Sermons and Reminiscences. 



"HE IS THE ROCK, HIS WORK IS PERFECT." 

— Deut. xxxii, 4. 

THE chapter from which we select our text is 
styled " The Song of Moses." It constitutes a 
apart of his farewell address to the people whom 
he had led, and for whom he had legislated many 
years, and is one of the most beautifully poetic 
portions of the whole Bible. Both the subject and 
the occasion combine to make his words eloquently 
impressive. Although himself constituting a fruit- 
ful theme of remark, and furnishing ample ma- 
terial for a large and interesting volume, he seems 
to be only ambitious to keep himself behind the 
vail, and, instead of exhibiting himself, to present 
in sharp and bold relief "the everlasting God;" 
and by a forcible illustration of his real character, 
and an allusion to his mighty acts, to elicit their 
gratitude and inspire their trust. "With what force 
and beauty must the words, " He is the Rock," have 
fallen on their ears ! The thoughts which they 
would legitimately suggest are those of durability, 
unchangeableness, shelter or safety, and of a foun- 
dation. 



"He is the Kock." 135 

Let us, then, briefly consider these thoughts, with 
the hope that we may be led the more perfectly to 
adore and trust him. And, 

1. Durability. " He is the Bock." As such, God 
is enduring. "We look out upon attractive nature, and 
linger in sweet, delicious thought among many objects 
of loveliness ; but are pained at the last to behold 
them passing away. Many of our fathers and moth- 
ers, whose forms and movements, whose voices and 
smiles and counsels and prayers were sources of 
such interest to us, that we really felt that we could 
not live without them, have gone down to mingle 
with the dead; and the solemn thought that our 
children would be left in orphanage, just as we have 
been, has put bitterness in the cup of which we were 
drinking ; but, blessed be God ! amid all this afflict- 
ing evidence of mutation in the objects of our love, 
we have been assured that there is One who never 
changes, and will never, no, never, pass away. And 
thus is it with the hopes that we cherish here, and 
thus, also, with the things in which we confide and 
place our trust. For awhile we may seem to be 
sailing on a quiet sea, with no indication of proxim- 
ity to hidden, fatal rocks, or the approach of a wreck- 
breeding tempest. We may be light of heart, gay 
and gleeful and buoyant with hope, anticipate a safe 
and delightful passage into a port of plenty and of 
peace. But such voyages are seldom made without 



136 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

disaster. Either hidden reefs or unexpected storms 
whelm us soon or later in ruin ; alas ! too late we 
learn that only God is worthy the hope and trust of 
mortals. " He is the Rock," and, as such, not only 
endures, but continues ever the same. He is, there- 
fore, 

2. Unchangeable. Even so, " without variableness 
or shadow of turning." "We place our thoughts and 
affections on a multiplicity of subjects and objects 
here ; and though many of these endure, yet they 
are so mutable, that we are in perpetual uneasiness 
about them. The old homes where we were cradled, 
where mothers sang to us their lullabies, and fathers 
told us stories of the chase and of war, have been 
cherished spots ; but O, how sad a thing it has been, 
and must ever be, to see them change, decay, and 
pass forever from our sight ! And there are friends 
we had in youth, they are still our friends, but, alas ! 
alas! how changed. Then there was the smooth 
brow, the full cheek, the brilliant eye, the ruby lip, 
the sweet musical voice, and the easy, graceful move- 
ment of muscle and of limb ; but now, instead, are 
seen the brow of care, the furrowed cheek, the 
sunken eye, the enfeebled form, and faltering step ; 
and now is heard the shattered, unmusical voice. 
But it is not so with God. The lapse of the eternal 
years, his love and care for all the creatures he has 
made, leave no mark of change upon his brow. He 



"He is the Bock." 137 

is as great and glorious as ever, and is still as much 
our friend. Bless his holy name ! 

But there is another class of the objects of our af- 
fections which, from the experiences of the past, we 
have sadly learned, were subjects of change. I mean 
those children which God, in goodness, gave us, and 
then, in mysterious mercy, took from us. "We had a 
little daughter, with eyes of deep, delicious blue, 
with rosy lips and cheeks, and features all formed in 
beauty's mold. She stayed with us six months, and 
seldom cried. She sat alone, and crept. She seemed 
all soul, excepting a little fleshly screen, to keep it 
out of sight ; but the delicate vehicle in which she 
had started to run the course of probation was 
dashed, and we turned in sadness from the wreck, 
and, lifting our heart, smitten with grief and sorrow, 
to the changeless God, we found consolation. "We 
had a son, an only son ; we called him Willie. He 
had beautiful curly locks and a broad and manly 
brow. For fourteen months he was the joy of the 
home circle, the care and the delight of parents and 
sisters. How little we thought that vigorous, active 
form could change into one with the damps of death 
upon it in less than a day ! Yet so it was. Kind 
friends gathered about, and shed their tears with 
ours; but it was the changeless Jehovah that sus- 
tained and comforted us then. In giving expression 
to these personal experiences, do I not, my friend 



138 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

and brother, somewhat represent your own? Have 
you not, also, discovered that God only is change- 
less ? And that, when you lifted your hearts to 
him in sorrow, by reason of the changeableness of 
the objects of your affections here, you were sure 
to find him ever the same. Do you not know by 
a blessed experience, that " He is the Rock ? " He 
is such, 

3. In the sense of shelter and safety. The psalmist 
says, " The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my 
deliverer." " The Lord liveth ; and blessed be my 
rock ; and exalted be the God of the rock of my sal- 
vation." Of the God-man, Jesus, our Saviour, it was 
prophesied that he should be " the shadow of a great 
rock in a weary land." The allusion is to long and broad 
stretches of country, unrelieved by grateful shade of 
forest or of tree ; but here and there a friendly rock, 
in whose shadow the sun-burned and weary traveler 
may find both shelter and rest. Now what the rock 
is to the persons of men, in the case supposed, God 
is, and will ever be, to the souls that trust in him. 
Wearied and faint from continued resistance to the 
fierce and incessant attacks of Satan, the Christian 
flies to the " rock that is higher than" him, and, find- 
ing in the Almighty safety and repose, says, "Be 
thou my strong habitation, where unto I may continu- 
ally resort : . . . for thou art my rock and my fortress." 
It is from this refuge that he can look forth with 



"He is the Bock." 139 

calmness on all his enemies. But finally, on this 
point, let us consider the term, " rock," 

4. As suggesting the idea of a foundation. "He 
is the Kock." As such, he is the foundation of the 
hopes of his people " in all generations." In various 
Scriptures this view of God is expressed. Instance, 
" Upon this rock I will build my Church ; and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The 
Saviour also expresses this idea in his estimate of 
the' man who built his house upon a rock, and 
which " fell not, for it was founded upon a rock." 
It is said of God's people that their strength " shall 
be the munitions of rocks." The fact that God is 
enduring and unchangeable, renders him at once 
worthy our confidence as a foundation. In almost 
every thing of a worldly nature men are the sub- 
jects of disappointment. Their desires and expecta- 
tions are seldom realized ; yet are they accustomed 
to hope on, for 

" Hope springs eternal in the human breast : 
Man never is, but always to be blest ;" 

but they who build their hopes on God are already 
blessed. He has never forfeited the confidence of 
those who have trusted in him. " The foundation 
of God standeth sure," and " other foundation can 
no man lay than that is laid." In building, it is of 
the first and greatest importance that a good founda- 



140 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

tion be secured. Materials for such in many locali- 
ties have to be brought from a great distance, and 
involve great cost ; but all expense in this direction 
is considered justifiable, in view of the fact that it 
adds to the permanence of the structure. Yet how 
frequently is it the case that even such foundations 
reveal in a few months, or years, at most, some im- 
perfection which blasts the hopes indulged respect- 
ing them. Not so, however, will it be with the 
hopes of the Church of God, or of any living mem- 
ber of it. God " is the Rock," the foundation upon 
which the hopes of his people rest, and no imperfec- 
tion will ever be discovered in him. Incomputable 
numbers of people in the prolific past, and present 
likewise, have hoped in God, and not one in the 
mighty host has had his soul put to shame or his 
confidence betrayed. And in proportion as this glo- 
rious fact shall come to be known and believed will 
the teeming millions of the coming generations choose 
the God who " is the Rock " as the foundation of 
their hopes. Our reason for this view is the availa- 
bility of this foundation. Persons of all ages and all 
nations, whether poor or rich, ignorant or learned, 
black or white, here find "ample room, and verge 
enough," on which to build their hopes. It is as 
broad as the wants of humanity, and it extends from 
the first to the last believing penitent sinner of the 
race. Here the hopes of our godly fathers and 



"He is the Rock." 141 

mothers rested, and here the hopes of our brothers 
and sisters in Christ who have " passed on before ;" 
and with the multiplication of the number of those 
who shall rest their hopes on this " Rock," there shall 
be increasing incentives to those who shall come after 
them to do this also. Thus the consistent Christian 
life and the happy triumphant death of every be- 
liever in Jesus has a wonderful tendency to influence 
others to build their hopes on the same foundation. 
Eut the indivisibility or unity of God as a founda- 
tion is an item of interest which must not be over- 
looked. How many there are who hope in the mercy 
of God, or in his goodness or love, without any ref- 
erence at all to any of his other attributes or perfec- 
tions. Such build their hopes of heaven, if the 
word be allowable in this connection, upon a frag- 
ment of the Eock itself — that is, upon an attribute or 
perfection of God, and not on God himself. " God 
is merciful," say they, but continue to live on in all 
wickedness, not pausing to consider the fact, that if 
merciful to them, they must be most unthankful and 
guilty, and that his mercy is only measured by the 
guilt which it pardons. And thus is it respecting 
the goodness and the love of God. "O God is 
good," say some; "too good to be unkind;" and 
this is true indeed. Eut such do not seem to reflect 
that their obligations to him must be graduated by 
his goodness to them ; and others say, " God is love," 



142 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

and this is equally true ; but such do not compre- 
hend the depth nor the intensity of the damnation 
to which they must be exposed whom the love of God 
does not win to a life of loving and holy obedience. 
The intelligent Christian rests his hope for the life of 
the world that is to come, not upon this or that attri- 
bute or perfection of him who " is the Rock," but 
upon the one indivisible and incomprehensible Jeho- 
vah, in whom are blended in perfect harmony and 
eternal unity all attributes and perfections. Such, 
brethren, I trust, is the foundation upon which your 
souls are reposing. If this be so, you will not sur- 
prise us if you sing, 

" How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, 
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word ! " 

My fellow-man and fellow-sinner, allow me to in- 
quire, What is the foundation on which you are rest- 
ing your hopes of heaven ? Also, I entreat you not 
to accept of one made of the shifting sands of time 
while there is solid rock so near and so available. 
Suffer not, I beseech you, your eternal interests to be 
jeopardized by vague and erroneous ideas of God, 
but rather, thoroughly study his attributes, perfec- 
tions, and character until, from a well-enlightened 
judgment, and a profound conviction of its truthful- 
ness, you shall be constrained to exclaim, " He is the 
Rock ! " and he shall be my Rock ! 



"He is the Kock." 143 

Let us now consider the second member of our 
text — " His work is perfect." 

1. That his work of creation is perfect is every- 
where manifested. He who constructs a clock that 
will measure time correctly for a series of years, sim- 
ply by being wound up once in twenty-four hours, 
has attained to a degree of perfection as a mechanic ; 
but he who constructs one that will serve the same 
purpose as well and as long, by being wound up but 
once a year, has attained to greater perfection. He 
who practically solved the problem of transmitting 
intelligence by electricity from city to city, and from 
one side of a continent to the other, it was thought, 
had attained to the perfection of inventive construc- 
tion ; but now that honor is his who succeeded in 
establishing an enduring pathway of thought be- 
tween continents and through the mighty deep. 
But we turn to Him, " who is wonderful in work- 
ing," to behold absolute perfection. It is in their 
perfection that all " his works praise him." " The 
heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament 
showeth his handiwork." " The works of the Lord 
are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure 
therein." " His work is honorable and glorious," 
" He hath made his wonderful works to be remem- 
bered." "What perfection do we behold in the sun 
and moon and stars ? And what in the earth, and in 
the heavens above the earth, and in the waters under 



144 Sermons and Bemtniscences. 

the heavens ? With the years of Methuselah and the 
tutorship of the " first-born sons of light," we could 
scarcely more than make a beginning in compassing 
the perfect works of God. They have their repre- 
sentatives in earth and air and sky, in the world of 
matter and of mind, in the rose of Sharon and in 
the lily of the valley, in the sturdy oak, the tower- 
ing pine, and the enduring cedar, and in man as well 
as angel. 

" Part of thy name divinely stands 

On all thy creatures writ ; 
They show the labor of thy hands, 

Or impress of thy feet." 

But, 2. God's work of redemption is perfect. 
"Whatever difficulties there were in the way of the 
redemption of man, he, in his wisdom and goodness, 
overcame ; hence the gates of life through which 
all may enter, 

" Stand open night and day." 

As God, in making sunlight for one man, could as 
easily make it for all men ; so, in redeeming one, he 
could as easily redeem all ; and as each man who en- 
joys the light of the sun has as much of it as he 
would or could have were there no one else to en- 
joy it, so the multiplication of the number of the 
redeemed does not prevent any one sharing in the 
full and perfect redemption which is by Christ Jesus 
our Lord. " He tasted death for every man." How 
perfect is this work ? And the experience of men, as 



"He is the Bock." 145 

well as the testimony of the Scriptures, proves its 
perfection. 

" For all my Lord -was crucified ; 
For all, for all, my Saviour died." 

In all the results of the work of redemption, so far 
as we are capable of becoming acquainted with them, 
we see perfection. Instance : the sinner is perfectly 
convinced that he is a sinner ; the penitent, believing 
sinner is freely, fully, and perfectly pardoned ; the 
hungering and thirsting are perfectly " filled," and 
the " faithful unto death," are eternally and perfect- 
ly saved. Come, then, my fellow-man, to this Rock 
of shelter and of rest. Come and hide you from the 
fires of sin here, and from those which God hath 
said should " burn as an oven." Come now, and you 
shall know that " God is the Rock," and that " his 
work is perfect." Christian brethren, you have come 
to him who " is the Rock." O do not leave him ; bu A 
sit beneath his shade, and, as an expression of your 
great satisfaction and confidence, sing 

" Rock of ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee ;" 

and occasionally, that you may persuade those who 
would pass this refuge by, lift up your voice in en- 
treating verse, and sing, 

" See from the Eock a fountain rise ; 
For you in healing streams it rolls ; 
Money ye need not bring, nor price, 
Ye laboring, burdened, sin-sick souls." 
10 



146 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

But, 3. God's work of providence is perfect. 
This, as it relates to the inferior animals, is indicated 
in the beautiful language of our Saviour : " Are not 
five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one 
of them is forgotten before God ! " " Behold the 
fowls of the air : for thej sow not, neither do they 
reap, nor gather into barns ; yet your heavenly Fa- 
ther feedeth them." And, as to his providence over 
man — the crowning work of his creative power and 
goodness — he is taught that it is in him he " lives, 
and moves, and has his being," and that the hairs 
of his head are all numbered. Now, I know that it 
is difficult for us to elevate our thoughts to an ade- 
quate appreciation of a being exercising such a defi- 
nite guardianship over man as these declarations of 
" the Son of God " indicate ; but, blessed be God ! I 
am exceedingly happy in the cordial belief of their 
entire truthfulness. Glory be unto the Father, and 
unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost! that the 
Christian, with his heart yearning over the sinning, 
suffering, and sighing ones of earth, may lift his 
thoughts up to One who has them all before his 
fatherly eye ; and, in an important sense to them, 
holds them all in his fatherly hand. Eespecting 
those his love has won from transgression into his 
service and worship, we are told that " the eyes of 
the Lord are over " them, and that his ears are open 
unto their prayers ; moreover, that " all things work 



"He is the Kock." 147 

together for good ; " and even that " our light afflic- 
tion, which is but for a moment, worketh for us 
a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 
Is it not true, then, that his work of providence is 
perfect ? But finally, 

4. His work of glorification is perfect. This in- 
cludes the changing of the bodies of " the quick," or 
living, as well as the resurrection of the bodies of 
" the dead." But it is only the bodies of " his peo- 
ple," whether quick or dead, that shall be glorified. 
God tells us by his prophet Isaiah, " I will glorify 
the house of my glory." And the context clearly 
defines his " house " to be " his people." When this 
is done, then will the saying of the apostle be true, 
indeed : " And whom he justified, them he also glori- 
fied." " For we know that, if our earthly house of 
this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of 
God, a house not made with hands, eternal' in the 
heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring 
to be clothed upon with our house which is from 
heaven : if so it be that being clothed we shall not 
be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle 
do groan, being burdened : not for that we would be 
unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be 
swallowed up of life." 

" O glorious hour ! blest abode ! 
I shall be near, and like my God ; 
And flesh and sin no more control 
The sacred pleasures of the soul." 



148 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

Here, as soon as we begin to live, we also begin to 
die ; and all along the pathway of the man who at- 
tains to " threescore years and ten " his heart is 
" beating funeral marches " to the tomb ; but, with a 
glorified body, " fashioned like unto Christ's glori- 
ous body," the heart shall beat time to an endless 
song, and thrill with joys eternal. Here the body 
often becomes weary, and needs and seeks repose ; 
but there, in its glorified state, it shall be strung with 
the sinews of immortality, and have employment in 
which it shall never tire. Here the body, on its way 
toward dissolution, endures more of pain than were a 
thousand ordinary deaths ; there " Our Father " in- 
forms us, shall be no more pain, neither sorrow nor 
sighing. 

" the stars never tread the blue heavens at night ! " etc. 

The soldier, after the wearisome march, or the day 
of terrible battle, lies down with comparative con- 
tent, only sheltered from the dews of night or from 
the drenching rain by the little tent he has carried 
on his back ; and the hunter tells you of the sweet re- 
pose and refreshing slumbers he has had (after the 
tiresome chase) in the rude cabin which his skill had 
constructed in a few short hours ; but when these 
have returned to the more comfortable abode of 
their fellow-men, they have desired to lodge in as 
good beds as other citizens. Thus, I have thought, 



"He is the Rock." 149 

respecting " the house/' or body, God has given his 
people to live in here, and the one he will give them 
to live in where they are to live forever. Here, 
where our " life is but a span," and our " age is as 
nothing," a fleshly body is sufficiently perfect ; but 
there, where our life-time is to be a forever-coming 
but never-ending eternity, a more perfect body will 
be demanded — a body whose members shall fully 
obey, without any wearisome pain or decay, every 
dictate of the soul, and be in perfect sympathy with 
all that soul's divine impulsions. 

"We have now given you the thoughts and senti- 
ments suggested by the two declarations respecting 
God — " He is the Rock, his work is perfect ;" and if 
the meditation of them shall be of as much interest 
and profit to you as the study of them has been to 
me, I shall be thankful. May living waters from the 
Rock, Christ Jesus, largely and sweetly flow to you, 
and forever bless you ! 

" At noon, beneath the Rock 

Of ages, rest and pray ; 
Sweet is that shelter from the sun 

In weary heat of day." 

"Be thou, Rock of Ages, nigh! 

So shall each murmuring thought be gone, 
And grief, and fear, and care, shall fly, 

As clouds before the midday sun." 



150 Sermons and Keminiscences. 



CHRIST'S MINISTERS. 

" But rise, and stand upon thy feet : for I have appeared unto thee 
for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of 
these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which 
I will appear unto thee ; delivering thee from the people, and from 
the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to 
turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto 
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance 
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." — Acts 
xxvi, 16, 17, 18. 

C HEIST has reserved the right to select his own 
ministers. " I have appeared unto thee for this 
purpose, to make thee a minister." This is most ap- 
propriate, for the work his ministers have to do is 
his work. It had its origin in him ; and his glory in 
the salvation of men is the chief object of the Gospel 
ministry. Now, as this object is never attained, nor 
even attainable, but by reason of his presence and 
might, it is, indeed, very proper that he should select 
the workman. But, whether for these or for other 
reasons which might be given, or for those with 
which we have as yet no acquaintance, this has been 
his practice from the first, and will, doubtless, con- 
tinue to be until the end of the Gospel dispensation. 
He makes his selections from the various classes and 
avocations known among men, and thus all of these 



Christ's Ministers. 151 

are represented in the Gospel ministry — an arrange- 
ment attesting his infinite wisdom and love. 

The pride of parents, the judgment of the worldly- 
wise, and the unsanctified ambitions of the aspiring 
are all ignored by the great and good " Master ; " and 
from parents who would count it a dishonor to have 
a son enter the ministry, from among those in whom 
the eye of the world never discovered any adaptation, 
and from the humble and unaspiring, Jesus has made 
ministers who have awakened the world by the thun- 
der of then* alarm. Even the Church has not always 
been able to guess, much less accurately to tell, what 
a minister any one would become unto whom Christ 
had appeared for that especial purpose. Hence, in 
some instances, where the sanction of her voice has 
been reluctantly given in acknowledging the divine 
call of some of her sons, our Christ and Lord has 
made of them "ministers, "mighty in word and 
deed," even spiritual Samsons, who have borne away 
the gates of wickedness, and toppled to their ruin 
many a temple reared to Satan. When lo ! the pri- 
mary actors on these cases have opened their eyes in 
wonder, and have said above a whisper, " We voted 
these men their first license ! " True, we scarcely 
dared and hardly meant to, but then we finally did 
it, and we are now honored by our reluctant action. 
Surely Jesus knew best, and we are now glad that he 
has reserved the right to choose his own ministers. 



152 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

The second thought suggested bj the text is, Christ 
calls men into the ministry who have some experience 
in the things of God ; for he calls them to witness as 
well as minister. " I have appeared unto thee for 
this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness." 
Those only who have experienced the power of the 
Gospel can effectually witness to its power. Unless 
a man can say, " I once was blind, but now I see ; 
I was very wretched, but am now very happy," he can 
never lead a soul to Christ. And yet, it is not the 
order of God to make known unto those men whom 
he calls into the ministry all the power of the Gospel 
at once, or at the first. They are to witness to what 
they have experienced then, and to what they may 
experience in the future. This is the instructive 
record — " To make thee , a minister and a witness 
both of these things which thou hast seen, and of 
those things in the which I will appear unto thee." 

As in nature, God does not give us all the rays of 
the sun in an instant, but gradually ; nor the rain in 
solid columns, but in billions of little droj>s ; so in the 
revelations of his saving power on human hearts. 
They come, blessed be his name ! but not all at once. 
" The path of the just is as the shining light, that 
shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Moses 
evidently did not fully understand God's order in 
this particular when he prayed, "I beseech thee, 
show me thy glory." He had learned something of 



Christ's Ministers. 153 

God, had tasted that he was good and gracious, and 
it was very natural for him to desire to know more 
of him ; but how he came to venture to this degree of 
solicitude I cannot tell. His request was not granted, 
yet God caused the glory of " his goodness to pass be- 
fore him." That was as much as Moses could endure 
or make good use of then. The glory of his great- 
ness and inimitable perfections were withheld until 
God took him up to his home and throne in heaven ; 
and I doubt if all of this will ever be revealed to him, 
even there. Paul had a powerful and rich experience 
at, and subsequent to, his conversion ; but it was not 
until a number of years had passed that he was 
caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words 
which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Thus is 
it now : " The Lord is giving me the most precious 
seasons here on this bed of suffering that I have ever 
enjoyed. I had no idea, when in health, that there 
was such power in religion to sustain the soul in 
the prospect of death, as I now find." This was the 
testimony of Sister Pettis, after she had had more 
than twenty years' experience in the things of God, 
and was given only a few days before she exchanged 
mortality for life — the cross for the crown. 

To do is to experience. He that will do the will 
of God " shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of 
God." " Paradise," it is said, " is always just ahead 
of the emigrant." If we "follow on to know the 



154 Sermons axd Eeminiscexces. 

Lord," we shall know him more perfectly ; and every 
step we advance we are to drop our testimony for 
Jesus. Thus we may become "living epistles," in- 
creasingly intelligent and powerful witnesses. The 
testimony of "babes in Christ" is interesting, and 
we love to hear youthful men preach the Gospel ; but 
to carry conviction to skeptical minds of its superior 
value and power, we would sooner trust to the testi- 
mony of men who have had long and deep experience 
in the cause of Christ; even to aged pilgrims who 
have been sustained in many conflicts, and who have 
come out of the last ones shouting, " The best of all 
is, God is with us," or, " Thanks be to God which giv- 
eth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ ! " 

Another truth suggested is, Christ will deliver 
those whom he calls into his service from the impedi- 
ments which friends or foes may thrust in their way. 
"Delivering thee from the people, and from the 
Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee." Our blessed 
Saviour evidently intended to provide a ministry for 
the world. " The people," that is, the Jews, " and 
the Gentiles " alike, needed the ministry of just such 
a man as Paul, and Jesus would even exert his power 
arbitrarily to give him an open field. This he occu- 
pied at once, and " showed first unto them of Damas- 
cus, and of Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts 
of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should 
repent and turn to God, . . . witnessing both to 



Christ's Ministers. 155 

small and great . . . that Christ should suffer, and 
that he should be the first that should rise from the 
dead, and should show light unto the people, and 
to the Gentiles." He " conferred not with flesh and 
blood," and Christ delivered and sustained him. In 
the light of this fact, difficulty and impediment are 
words without meaning, or are only sufficient to sug- 
gest the idea of triumph to all those who do his will. 

Brethren, our unbelief constitutes the mightiest 
obstacle in the way of an all-prevailing Gospel. O ! 
had we an implicit trust in its author, and did we 
live so near to him that our hand of faith might lay 
itself on his great heart so that we might feel its 
benevolent throbbings for the race , the words cannot, 
difficulty, and failure would be stricken from our 
vocabulary ; and, instead, we should be heard to say, 
respecting the work he gives us to do, "It can, it 
must, it will be done, for Jesus lives. I feel the 
beatings of his heart ! " O, for such nearness to the 
source of life and power ! Draw us, God-man, as 
thou art unto thyself ; then shall we be delivered, sus- 
tained, and made to triumph gloriously. But we also 
have, in this Scripture, a comprehensive view of the 
grand objects of the Gospel ministry ; and these ob- 
jects may be very naturally divided into two classes 
— the preparative and the completive. The prepara- 
tive consists, 

1. In the " opening of men's eyes," or in helping 



156 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

them to behold their danger and their interests. 
The Jews were in danger of incurring the guilt and 
the punishment due to those who would tear the dia- 
dem of mercy, truth, and love from the brow of 
Jesus. The Gentiles were in danger of still enter- 
taining the false notions that " Our Father " was ex- 
clusively the God of the Jews, and of continuing in 
their dwarfing and degrading idolatry. The Jews 
and the Gentiles also had interests, interests in com- 
mon, but of which both were ignorant ; interests of 
more value than were globes of gold or a universe 
of silver. " I send thee, to open their eyes " that 
they may see that I am, indeed, the sent of God, 
the true Messiah, and that God is no respecter of 
persons ; but that " he is good unto all, and rich unto 
all that call upon his name." Convince them that 
the Father's grace, like the sunlight and the atmos- 
phere, is especially meant for the world. Do not, 
however, leave them with only opened eyes ; but, 

2. " Turn them from darkness to light, and from 
the power of Satan unto God." Exert yourself, use 
persuasive force to turn them from wrong-thinking 
and wrong-doing, to break away from the devil's influ- 
ence, and to hasten to God ; and as these were the 
preparative objects of the Gospel ministry in the 
time of Paul's call to the ministry, they are the same 
now, the same the world over. To-day and every- 
where this preparative work has to be done ; and 



Christ's Ministers. 157 

acting upon this fact, churches are erected and beau- 
tified, that the many may be drawn to the preaching 
of the everlasting Gospel. 

As to the completive objects of the Gospel minis- 
try, we remark they are two : First, " the forgive- 
ness of sins ;" second, " an inheritance among them 
which are sanctified." Both, however, are conse- 
quent on men's seeing their danger and interests, and 
turning "from darkness to light, and from the power 
of Satan unto God." Imprimis, the " power of Sa- 
tan," establishes the fact of his existence. Power is 
the result of being. Where there is no being there 
can be no power. As men were to be turned " from 
the power of Satan unto God " in St. Paul's time, so 
are they to be turned from his power in our time. 
Some have believed that they would live to see the 
devil die, but none have attained to that age as yet. 
Should such an event occur, doubtless the intelligent 
universe will very soon know and appreciate the 
fact. " That they may receive forgiveness of sins." 
Bless the Lord ! He has something good for those 
who turn unto him. The " forgiveness of sins ! " 
than which a sweeter note never fell on ear of mor- 
tal. Behold that sinful, guilty one ! His eyes are 
opened, and he sees and feels as never before his 
proximity to hell. How the recollections of the past 
thunder through his soul ! He would fly from him- 
self, but he cannot. Hell has risen up to his heart, 



158 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

its fires are burning there. Shall we go and tell him 
that he must, absolutely must, suffer on, and on, un- 
til, by suffering, his sins shall be expiated? ]STo, a 
thousand times no! God hath given us for him 
another message. The Gospel which we preach 
breathes good-will toward men, authorizing us to 
proclaim pardon for the guilty, life for the dead, 
and salvation for the lost. Ours, brethren, is evi- 
dently a Gospel of salvation and not of damnation, 
and we have great confidence that it will yet heal the 
wounds of the soul, and drive away the woes of a 
sin-stricken race. But, 

3. There is also an " inheritance among them which 
are sanctified." Forgiveness of sins is a great good ; 
so great as to fully justify all that ever has, or ever 
could be, done to seek and accept it ; but an " inherit- 
ance among them which are sanctified " is a much 
greater good. The one to the other is as the dawn- 
ing light of morning to noon-day splendor, or as 
John Baptist was to Jesus. An " inheritance ! " not 
bounded by lines of latitude and longitude ; not 
mapped off on canvas, so that the eye can sweep it 
and the finger can easily follow its lines ; but an in- 
heritance whose center is the everlasting throne, and 
whose circle is the girdle of the divine ubiquity. Its 
character is indicated by its associations. It is 
" among them which are sanctified." It is, therefore, 
in good society. Were we to come into the posses- 



Christ's Ministers. 159 

sion of ever so large an inheritance here, it must 
necessarily be in the midst of a mixed society — a so- 
ciety of the evil and the good. But all are good in 
heaven. If here, it might be in a sickly region ; but 
the inhabitants of that country never say, " I am 
sick." Indeed, were we to have the privilege of se- 
lecting one here, we could locate it in no place where 
the people do not, and where we should not also, 
die ; but among them that are sanctified death never 
comes. 

" There everlasting spring abides." 

Finally, the Scripture suggests the importance of 
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The glorious objects 
of the Gospel ministry, nay, of all evangelical labor, 
can only be secured by faith in our Lord Jesus, the 
living Head of the Church. Hence he says, " By 
faith that is in me." He that would labor to open 
men's eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and 
from the power of Satan unto God, must labor in 
faith. Moreover, he who has been brought to this 
experience by the work of faith must himself believe 
in Christ, or he will never receive the higher experi- 
ence of the "forgiveness of" his "sins, and" an "in- 
heritance among them which are sanctified." May a 
ministry, a witnessing ministry of Christ's selecting, 
never be wanting to preach the Gospel in this com- 
munity nor in these lands, until the people, all the 
people, shall have " their eyes opened," and be 



160 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

turned " from darkness to light, and from the power 
of Satan unto God ! " 

Happy, glorious day ! By faith I behold it com- 
ing. The star which heralds it has arisen, and beau- 
tiful gleamings of celestial light are throwing their 
radiance on the receding darkness. Sometimes I 
think that I catch the mingling notes of victory, and 
see, or seem to see, the millions in the great brother- 
hood, raised up by the power of the Gospel into a 
region of holiness and peace, and bathed in a sea of 
glory, and bound and held together by the magnet 
of divine Love, going forth to the possession of their 
"inheritance among them which are sanctified," 
keeping time to the song : " Unto him that loved us, 
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and 
hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Fa- 
ther ; to him be glory and dominion for ever and 



11 glorious hour! blest abode! 

I shall be near, and like my God ; 
And flesh and sin no more control 

The sacred pleasures of the soul." 



Past and Present State of Believers. 161 



PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF BELIEVERS. 

" And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and 
sins." — Eph. ii, 1. 

THIS Scripture suggests the past and the present 
state of believers. The past is indicated by the 
words, " were dead ; " and the present by the phrase 
" you hath he quickened." 

We propose the consideration of both. The past 
first ; and the present secondly. 

I. ""Who were dead." This figure is a strong one, 
but facts justify the use of it. 

In the physical world a dead body arrests the at- 
tention, awakens an interest, and secures the sympa- 
thy of the living. They gather around it, and often 
make great lamentation over it. A soul " dead in 
trespasses and sins " commands the attention of the 
ever living God, the liveliest interest of angels, and 
the most earnest sympathy on earth. In the for- 
mer case life would be restored if the living could 
give it, but the feeling that they cannot give birth to 
another feeling is kindred to despair; in the latter 
case there is hope, for in the results of such atten- 
tion, interest, and sympathy the great truth is estab- 
lished, that living Christians may be made of spirit- 
11 



162 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

ually dead sinners; for all real Christians are con- 
verted sinners and have become new creatures in 
Christ Jesus. But there are a number of interesting 
analogous points between the dead physically and the 
dead spiritually. 

1. The former " have eyes, but they see not." The 
slow and measured tread of friends, who come near 
them, and linger there in sadness, is not discovered. 
Beautiful tributes of affection, placed with tender 
hands in love's array, baptized with tears, and 
scented with the aroma of devoted love, take their 
place upon the brow, or over the heart, without meet- 
ing a look of recognition. A world of beauty may 
surround them, but to the dead it is all a blank. 
Thus is it with the dead spiritually. God " the one 
who is altogether lovely " comes near them, but "the 
eye of their understanding being darkened " they do 
not behold him. He enshrouds himself in the dra- 
pery of an earthly tabernacle, and comes in dyed gar- 
ments from Bozrah, emitting the perfume of the 
wine-press and the odor of " the mountain of spices," 
and all of this as an exhibition of his interest for the 
dead, but their vision does not apprehend him. At 
most he is but as " a root out of a dry ground," having 
" no form or comeliness . . . that we should desire him." 

2. The physically dead have " ears, but they hear 
not." Their names are uttered and repeated — their 
virtues talked of, and multiplicity of reasons urged 



Past and Present State of Believers. 1G3 

to make it appear that the departed should have 
lived longer ; but the ears of the silent sleeper hear 
and heed them not. The birds of song come and 
sing by the trellised window, and voiceful nature 
sends forth her full-toned melodies, and the music of 
the spheres still goes on ; but he sends back to these 
no smiles of joy, for death has closed the ears of the 
sleeper now. Thus is it with the spiritually dead — 
the " dead in trespasses and sins." The story of the 
cross, ever wonderful and ever new to others' ears, is 
repeated to them from early youth to ripened man- 
hood ; the love-bearing messages of the everlasting 
Gospel, and the deep-toned solicitude burdening every 
prayer of believers with the triumphant rejoicings of 
those who die into* a life eternal, are unheeded and 
unheard. News from hell and heaven are alike dis- 
regarded. The wailings of the lost, as well as the 
almost bewildering melodies of the redeemed, fail 
to penetrate their moral sense and to secure their 
earnest thought. 

3. The physically dead are powerless for the ac- 
complishment of good. Husbands look upon the life- 
less forms of their wives, and wives upon those of 
their husbands, and the painful conviction is felt that 
all their kind offices have ceased. Children gather 
about the lifeless remains of their parents, and par- 
ents around those of their children, and, in either 
case, a dependence is felt to be gone, and a grief too 



164 Sermons and Reminiscences 

large for utterance rests upon the heart. The help- 
ing hand, the willing feet, the approving eye, the 
cheerful voice — in short, all, all these offices originat- 
ing in the hearts of those who love to do and suffer 
for the weal of others, are destroyed, and the surviv- 
ors feel that the world has grown poor by just so 
much as these were in the habit of supplying. Thus 
it is respecting the spiritually dead. They are pow- 
erless for " the work of faith — for the labor of love." 
Objects of want throng them, but they cannot see 
them; pleadings for help are uttered, but they do 
not hear thsm; millions are perishing, but their 
hearts are not moved with pity toward them ; and 
the only solution to the awful problem is found in 
the fact, that they are dead " in trespasses and sins." 
II. Such was the condition of every believer. Such 
was your condition who do now rejoice in a new life, 
which is " hid with Christ in God." You remember 
the dawn — the beginning of that life. Spiritual sen- 
sibility was the commencement. For as a dead body 
cannot resurrect itself, so is it impossible for souls 
" dead in trespasses and sins " to " quicken" or bring 
themselves into the life of God. But as a dead body 
restored to life and sensibility may, by volition, re- 
main motionless, never arise, nor perform a physical 
act so with souls " quickened " into sensibility. 
They may, for multitudes have and still do, remain 
inactive as to the discharge of the various duties which 



Past and Peesent State of Belie vees. 165 

they owe to God and to human society. The present 
condition of believers, then, involves something more 
than spiritual sensibility. As a man restored to life 
must will to see, to hear, to taste, and to feel ; as he 
must will to move and to do, if any of these senses are 
to be gratified, or if any thing worthy of a man shall 
be accomplished ; so the soul " dead in trespasses and 
sin" brought back to spiritual sensibility, must will 
to rise above the region of spiritual death, where it 
can look out upon moral obligations, hear the sweet 
strains of mercy floating out from the glorious cross, 
and taste of the good words of life, freighted with the 
" fat things full of marrow," to nourish the soul and 
make it strong to run in the way of holiness. " You 
hath he quickened ! " I seem to see you, Christian 
brethren, when the power which brought you to 
spiritual sensibility reached your dead souls. It was 
the hour of deep and of keen conviction, of thor- 
ough awakening — the hour when God said again, 
" Let their be light ! " When you looked out, and 
saw your fearful proximity to perdition — when you 
heard the ceaseless dashings of its fiery billows — 
when filled with self-loathing and great fear for your 
personal safety — the Spirit of the Lord directed your 
gaze to Christ crucified, and you looked and lived. 
I seem to see you when the tumult within you was 
hushed, and your souls became calm at the speaking 
of those words of Jesus, " Peace, be still," and you sat 



1 66 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

down at his feet, clothed and in your right minds. 
O ! what a quickening was that ! It sent you forth 
with joy-beaming eyes, with love-telling lips, and 
with souls full of blessing. You wept over the 
straying, kindly spoke to them of the love of Jesus, 
and w T restled in prayer for their salvation. You saw 
some of these irresistibly awakened or " quickened " 
into spiritual sensibility, and then you stretched forth 
helping hands and were successful in leading them to 
God through Christ. Then, if not before, you saw 
that God had connected your spiritual life with the 
spiritual life of others ; and that, while in some 
sense he arbitrarily awakens men, he nevertheless 
employs the living Christian to conduct others to 
the source of that life. Then you esteemed it a priv- 
ilege and an honor to work in God's vineyard. It 
was your meat and drink to do the will of God ; and 
it is so yet, if you are still " quickened " or still alive 
in him, your living Head. Brethren, what has not 
this quickening, spiritual, life-producing power 
wrought in this w T orld of death ? What will it not 
yet accomplish % The history of the Church is but a 
record of its wonderful achievements! The lifting 
up of the cross in heathen lands is but the earnest of 
its universal diffusion, and the singing of " the new 
song " on the other shore is but an eloquent testimony 
to its being the great and grand regenerator of the 
race. 



Past and Present State of Believers. 1G7 

Sinner, you have been made to feel the presence of 
this life element. It may be that God sees that you 
feel it now. If so, please do not, for your soul's sake, 
defer to make it known to some sympathizing Chris- 
tian friend. A farther and to you more glorious 
quickening may, nay absolutely does, depend on your 
doing so ; while upon this more glorious quickening 
hinges your usefulness in time, your triumph in the 
dying hour, and your reception into the " everlasting 
kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ." Surely these, 
with your past and present sensibility, must be re- 
garded as highly desirable. These include every ob- 
ject worthy the aspiration of an immortal soul, and 
link it with the aggressive movements and mighty 
victories of an all-conquering arm. Kemember that 
God and the quickened soul alive in him are always 
in the majority. Come, then, in your weakness and 
feebleness, come and make the cause of God your 
own, and he will fully quicken and empower you to 

11 Fight the good fight, and win at length 
Through mercy an immortal crown." 

"Come, for all else must fail and die, 

Earth is no resting-place for thee ; 
Heavenward direct thy weeping eye ; 

I am thy portion — Come to me." 



168 Sermons and Keminiscences. 



NECESSITY OF THE NEW BIRTH. 

*' Ye must be born again." — John iii, ?. 

THE utterances of Christ are authoritative, and 
they are equally and universally so. They are 
also truthful, equally and universally truthful. The 
one constituting our text is as authoritative and 
truthful as any he ever spake. He knew man in his 
original purity, in his terrible defection and fall, in 
the perversity of his will, affections, and judgment ; 
yet, with this knowledge of man, he declares that he 
" must be born again." Hence the nature and the 
necessity of the new birth will have our thought in 
this discourse. As to the nature, we remark, 

I. It is enlightening. Hence the subject of it 
looks upon himself in a new light. Nothing is more 
common than for unconverted persons to entertain 
false and erroneous views of themselves — of their 
own moral condition, and their utter inability of 
themselves to make it better. Ignorant of the 
strength of habit, they form those which grow with 
their growth until they become bound to them as 
with fetters of iron, and they are constrained to say, 
" O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver 
me?" 



Necessity of the New Birth. 169 

Such, also, have new views of God — of his charac- 
ter and perfections; of his law, and of its infinite 
sanctions ; of providence and grace ; of the Gospel, 
with its vast provisions; of the Spirit, and of its 
wonderful ministrations; of the Son, and of the ob- 
ject of his mission into this world of sin and of 
death. Such have also new views of the present and 
the future ; of time and of eternity ; of heaven, earth, 
and hell; of probation and retribution; of man's ac- 
countability, and of his endless destiny. It is from 
such that the confession is wrung — 

" I loathe myself when God I see 
And into nothing fall ; " 

and from whom the humble prayer ascends : " Please, 
God, for Christ's sake, have mercy on me, and 
henceforth use me for thy glory. 6 Not my will, but 
thine, O God, be done.' " Now, how is this ? Why 
is this ? The only truthful answer is found in the fact 
that light has penetrated the dungeon of the soul, 
and it has become the subject of divine illumination. 
Such look no longer down upon their fellow-man, 
but up to him, and call him brother. The Christian- 
ity of the New Testament makes its subjects one in 
Christ, inspires them with the same blessed hope, 
arms them with like precious faith, and puts them in 
possession of the excellent knowledge of Christ Jesus 
the Lord. 



170 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

II. The new birth is exalting. How could it be 
otherwise ? The new and hallowed associations in 
which the soul now mingles, the holy aspirations of 
which it is the subject, the glorious hopes which it 
cherishes, while the new and noble and holy objects 
of pursuit presented, all conspire to lift it above its 
former condition, and to ally it to angels and to God. 
Note the fact, 

1. That it is exalted in thought. Once thoughts 
the most vile and lascivious, earthly, sensual, and 
devilish, filled the mind, and were cherished there. 
Now, though occasionally suggested, they are prompt- 
ly dismissed, turned straight out of doors, and, in 
Jesus' name, adjured to depart at once. 

2. It is exalted in affection. Once the soul sent 
out her affections downward, and they fastened on 
the creature, but now they rise and tower and mount 
to the heavens— they grasp immortality and glory— 
they fasten upon principalities and powers, on thrones, 
and on God. All her precious things are now in 
heaven, and we hear her sing of them — 

" There is my house and portion fair ; 
My treasure and my heart are there, 

And my abiding home ; 
For me my elder brethren stay, 
And angels beckon me away, 

And Jesus bids me come." 

3. It is also exalted in purpose. Once what it had 
of purpose was resolvable into self ; but now it goes 



Necessity of the New Birth. 171 

forth on swift and joyous wing in search of subjects 
of want, with the purpose and the resolve to relieve 
them of misery, with the desire to make them happy. 
Of moral death ; with the high determination to bear 
to them the elixir of life, while with a bold hand it 
subscribes to the doctrine — " No man liveth unto 
himself." But, furthermore, 

III. The new birth is bliss-giving, soul-cheering, 
and soul-sustaining. In the dark day it used to fold 
its wings and moan in sadness, but now it stretches 
its pinions, and, rising above the darkening cloud, it 
bathes its plumage in the flood of life beyond. For 
such a soul there is always sunshine, and the secret 
of finding it is with her. The range of its vision is 
not bounded by lines of latitude or of longitude, for 
it sweeps the earth and the heavens. Science and 
revelation are both laid under tribute to it, and are 
made to minister to its joys. Yet not from external 
objects does such a soul draw its largest draughts of 
bliss. G-od, the infinitely happy one, reigns there, 
dwells there ; 

" And where he vital breathes 
There must be joy." 

The subjects of grace, whether on earth or in 
heaven, in nature are the same. 

" They sing the Lamb in hymns above, 
And we in hymns below." 



172 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

The nature of the new birth involves all this. 
Hence we notice, 

IV. The necessity of the new birth. This might 
be argued from various considerations ; we shall no- 
tice only a few. And, 

1. Man's moral state. That is, his moral state pre- 
vious to regeneration. This is inconsistent with real 
happiness. The experience of the world demon- 
strates this. Now, our Father in heaven evidently 
designs the happiness of his creatures, and, but for 
sin, this world would be a paradise indeed. Univers- 
al happiness has been prevented by universal sin, . 
and as this sin has its seat and center in man's men- 
tal and moral constitution, a radical change in said 
constitution is absolutely essential to his happiness. 
This we call the new birth. As it is in vain that 
you attempt to convey to the man who never heard a 
sound any appreciable idea of the melody of song, or 
to him who was born blind the scenes of beauty and 
of loveliness, thrown by the hand divine in grand 
profusion above, beneath, and all around him, so as 
to make his heart to bound with delight as yours 
have done ; so it is impossible for man, or even for 
God, to make those really happy whose moral natures 
do not harmonize with the principles of his govern- 
ment. For as the deaf wake not to the melodies of 
nature, and as the blind are not moved by the ever- 
varying scenes of beauty surrounding them, so the 



Necessity of the New Birth. 173 

heart of man, unrenewed, is absolutely incapable of 
deriving happiness from the strains which come from 
Calvary, or from the ever-blooming fields of promise 
inviting the gaze and admiration of the spiritually 
enlightened. And as even the glorious sunlight is 
only pleasant to the eye in a perfect state, so the 
shinings of our heavenly Father's face and the scin- 
tillations of love divine thrown out from the won- 
drous cross are, and can only be, appreciated by 
hearts renewed in righteousness and true holiness. 
And yet unconverted men wonder and wonder why 
they are not happy. It is far more wonderful that 
they are not utterly miserable. Their moral natures 
are so much out of tune, that neither in the bass, 
tenor, soprano, nor alto do they harmonize with heav- 
enly or godly natures, and never can, until taught 
and drilled in the school of Christ. Man's moral 
nature must be subjected to moral discipline and be 
yielded to moral control before it can receive enjoy- 
ment from contact with, or the contemplation of, 
moral objects and pure associations. Now, as these 
are pressed on his attention, and in some sense attach 
to him, his happiness depends on the production of a 
perfect affinity. This, according to the teaching of 
God's word, and the experience of his people, can 
only be effected by his being " born again." 

Here we might rest the case, as the argument al- 
ready employed must be immovable ; but as there is 



174 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

another at hand, found in the text itself, we will 
employ that also. Then, from the decision of Christ, 
" Ye must be born again," we argue its necessity. I 
know that wicked and skeptical men appeal from this 
decision, and seek to substitute something (else) in 
place of the new birth ; some one thing, and others 
another, while others still, with Nicodemus, say, 
" How can this thing be % " and live on and pass 
toward the judgment and the fearful retribution of 
eternity in endless doubts, professedly, because they 
cannot understand how the work is to be wrought. 
Others construct a theory, and persuade themselves 
to believe that its development will evolve a happi- 
ness as great as is good for man in this world, and 
w T hich shall secure to him the companionship of 
angels in heaven. Some seek to deal justly with 
their fellow-men, and pride themselves on this, until 
they seem to have utterly forgotten that they had to 
do with God as well as men, and die with the awful 
reflection — though we have never intentionally 
wronged our fellows, yet we are going into the pres- 
ence of a God whose claims we have set at naught, 
and the glance of whose eye shall flash conviction of 
our guilt forever on our souls ; and on the breaking 
verge of the yawning gulf, and above the roar of the 
endless storm, they hear and believe, but, alas ! alas ! 
too late, that the decision of Christ was just and true 
and eternal when he said, " Ye must be born again." 



Necessity of the New Birth. 175 

This is no fancy picture, no creature of the imagina- 
tion, but it is in fact a very poor portraiture of the 
terrible reality. And yet unrenewed men dream of 
happiness and heaven, trifle with time and life, those 
sacred, solemn trusts, and dance their way down to 
the grave, or stop their ears and sneeringly laugh 
during the pleadings and intercessions of the Son of 
God. It is possible some who shall read this are 
among the number. 

Does this suggestion surprise you ? And shall I 
be called over-bold because I tell you this truth ? 
Does not the decision of Jesus, as given in the text, 
protect me I And does it not settle the great fact 
that men may be rich and respectable and learned 
and influential, and still be unhappy? It must be 
so, for he was never mistaken. He knew what was 
in man. Our thoughts lie open to his view. The 
germ of every desire and purpose of our hearts 
comes within the range of his omniscient glances ; 
yet, with this most perfect knowledge of us, and of 
the laws that govern happiness and mind; with a 
perfect knowledge of our high capabilities for enjoy- 
ment, and of the intense mental sufferings of which 
we are capable, he says, " Ye must he horn again? 
Your spiritual life depends upon it ; your happiness 
and your heaven. 

My brother man and brother sinner, give, O give 
this truth your immediate and most earnest and 



176 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

prayerful attention. Ask for the grace which saves 
from sin, ask for the power that converts the heart, 
nor cease asking till the light and peace and joy of 
the new birth are yours. Nor then cease, but use 
the new power thus acquired in bringing others into 
the blessed kingdom of grace, and instrumentally aid- 
ing them in getting ready for the kingdom of glory. 

" The kingdoms are but one." 

Would you forever live in the department above, 
you must press into the department below. May 
the ever-helping Spirit aid you in a struggle for a 
new and higher life in Jesus, and crown you at last 
with life eternal, for his sake ! Amen. 

" Come Holy Ghost, my heart inspire, 

Attest that I am born again ; 
Come, and baptize me now with fire, 

Nor let thy former gifts be vain : 
I cannot rest in sins forgiven ; 
Where is the earnest of my heaven ? 

Where the indubitable seal, 

That ascertains the kingdom mine? 
The powerful stamp I long to feel — 

The signature of love divine ; 
O shed it in my heart abroad, 
Fullness of love, of heaven, of God! " 



Ohjbist Died for Us. 177 



CHRIST DIED FOR US 

u For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation 
by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or 
sleep, we should live together with him." — 1 Thess. v, 9, 10. 

GOD never expresses opinions, but facts, truths. 
Thus was it with all who spake or wrote as they 
were moved by the Holy Ghost. Their mission was 
to pour forth truths revealed to them by Jehovah ; 
to faithfully record facts as to the government and 
purposes of God respecting the race. Our text is a 
forcible and beautiful illustration of this principle in 
the divine proceedings. There is no ambiguity nor 
circumlocution here, but a simplicity and directness 
of utterance, revealing at once the truths, the facts, 
to the mind's comprehension, and, but for the per- 
versity of the human heart, and the extreme reluct- 
ance with which it accepts of truths not allied to its 
own nature, there would be little need of more than 
a simple utterance of them to each individual ; but as 
the case is, " Line upon line, precept upon precept," 
is found to be necessary. And, even after this pains- 
taking, should the soul of the sinner so hear as to 
heed and live, the result justifies the effort, and 
crowns it with honor and with glory. How full of 

mercy, truth, and grace is the enunciation, " God 
i2 



178 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

liath not appointed us to wrath ? " How infinite, as 
a source of encouragement and hope to the sinful, 
rebellious, and guilty ! With what telling force and 
animating charm and power must it address itself to 
minds despondent and desponding, struggling under a 
weight of sin— struggling with increasing weakness, 
too, to throw oh* the load upon it, to break the chains, 
self-forged, which bind and hold it down. 

" Not appointed us to wrath." Sinner, does not 
this announcement throw a ray of hope across your, 
soul, and awaken you, so that you can see your God 
and Father even challenging your faith, your trust ? 
Ay, sinner, God in Christ is not against but for 
you. Fnrepenting, unbelieving, you are against your 
God, against yourself, against your happiness here 
and in heaven. In agreement with God, you will 
find your happiness and heaven, and nowhere else but 
there. " 'Not appointed us to wrath." No, for you 
are the subject not of a vengeful but of a graciously 
benevolent appointment, decree, or purpose, having 
been " appointed ... to obtain salvation by oar Lord 
Jesus Christ." 

This appointment was made in an early period of 
the history of our race, and was worded thus, " The 
seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." 
A later version thus : " The scepter shall not depart 
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, 
until Shiloh come : and unto him shall the gathering 



Christ Died for Us. 179 

of the people be." This merciful purpose or ap- 
pointment, deeply fixed in the heart of God, is seen 
cropping out, ever and anon, along the line of the 
former dispensation, fitting the race for its grand 
and glorious development in the new, when a child 
should be born, and a son should be given, and the 
government of this purpose or appointment should 
be upon his shoulders : and when, by his authority, 
an angel should fly through the midst of heaven, hav- 
ing this truth : " The Gospel to preach to them that 
dwell on the earth." 

" To obtain salvation." How much the race needed 
it ! How much it needs it still ! " Darkness," men- 
tal and moral, covered the earth, and gross darkness 
the people — that is, the Jews ; for even the Jews 
failed to fathom the merciful and gracious import of 
the coming Saviour, and were only elated at his ap- 
proach while the illusion of temporal deliverance 
flitted before them. When this was broken by the 
announcement, " My kingdom is not of this world," 
they were ready to crucify " Jesus of Nazareth," and 
make of themselves " vessels of wrath fitted for de- 
struction." 

" To obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." 
Strange utterance, and significant as strange, and 
strange because of its significance. The middle, or 
partition, wall is to be broken down, in fact, is al- 
ready demolished, and the Gentiles are invited to 



180 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

immunities equal to the Jews ; yes, to infinitely 
more than Jew had even dreamed or hoped for. 
For is it not " a faithful," that is, just and true, 
" saying, that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
save sinners," and this saying, which is " worthy of 
all acceptation," of acceptance by all, has reached the 
Gentiles, and is practically illustrated by the raptur- 
ous joys of converted Jew and Gentile, as with will- 
ing heart and lip and voice they pour forth on listen- 
ing ears, " God hath not appointed us to wrath, but 
to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ ?" Ours, 
in common, and not to the exclusion of any in equal 
need of such a Saviour. Glory be to God ! who thus 
provides for the family of man a Saviour for every 
man in the family, so that every member can say, 
" Our Lord Jesus Christ." But mark the appoint- 
ment. It is " to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus 
Christ." Here is the source of salvation, here the 
fountain, whose issuing stream is rolling its life-tide 
over the nations. But it comes not to man, in its 
cleansing, saving power, unexpectedly, unsought, or 
unimplored. "We must come to it " to obtain," expe- 
rience, and enjoy the health and life which it imparts. 
And do you not hear Him, who has the disposal and 
direction of this stream of life, saying, in pleading, 
heavenly tones, " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come 
ye to the waters ; " " If any man thirst, let him 
come unto me, and drink ;" and, " Come, for all 



Christ Died for Us. 181 

things are now ready." O it is in coming to " Christ 
Jesus the Lord " that we " obtain salvation," coming 
to him in penitence and faith, that we find him 
" waiting to be gracious." It is in coming to him 
whole-heartedly that we obtain access to the fountain 
and power to bear away on our souls marks of a di- 
vine purifying. To do this costs an effort, some- 
times magnified into a struggle, compelled by an 
utter sense of helplessness ; but the pearl of salvation 
thus obtained is cheap at any price. But the ground 
of all difficulty in finding it is always in ourselves, 
and not in the Lord Jesus Christ ; for that we might 
obtain salvation by him, " He humbled himself, and 
became obedient unto death," and not despising us 
in our low estate, but fixing his eyes and heart of in- 
finite regard upon us, 

" He flew to our relief." 

Behind him was heaven, with its eternal song ; be T 
fore him was hell, with its ceaseless waiting : behind 
him were ranks of loving, obedient, and adorning 
ones ; before him were myriads of sinful and sinning 
men : behind him was the throne of thrones, with no 
one there to dispute his right to rule and reign, and 
to receive honor and glory and thanksgiving and 
blessing ; before him was a world which, though 
made by him, is united and in league with hell to 
dispute his authority, and to persecute him to the 



182 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

death : behind him is the glory that he had with the 
Father before the world was ; before him a morally 
desolate waste, in which he should find no place to 
lay his head : behind him was the floating, soothing 
melody of the minstrelsy of bliss; before him the 
horrid oaths, the imprecations, blasphemies, and 
curses of those he goes to save. O what a heart 
must have been his to court such shame, to stoop so 
low, to come from the regions of light and life, into 
the dominions of darkness and of death ! Yet this 
he did, and more, too, for he shrouded his divinity in 
the drapery of an earthly tabernacle ; he veiled his 
ineffable brightness and glory with the nature, purely 
human, that he took upon himself, thus tempering 
the brightness and the glory to the strength of the 
eyes that were to behold him. And more still did 
he do, for he lifted the veil from the human heart, 
and let shine upon it the glorious sunlight of truth. 
From his lips dropped words of fire, so that those who 
listened to them afterward said, " Did not our heart 
burn within us while he talked with us by the way, 
and while he opened to us the Scriptures ? " And 
still more did he do. Communicating his own Spirit 
unto certain chosen ones for the purpose, they found 
themselves with a necessity laid upon them " to 
preach his Gospel," and, being endued with power 
from on high, not only u kings of armies did flee 
apace, and she that tarried at home divided the 



Christ Died foe Us. 183 

spoil," but the " common people heard them gladly," 
so that "the Lord added to the Church daily such 
as should be saved." That is, a powerful, glorious, 
and continuous revival of religion was instituted and 
inaugurated, which, culminating at Jerusalem on the 
day of " Pentecost, swept three thousand from the 
ranks of sin and carried them into the comforting, 
nourishing bosom of the Church of God. 

These all " obtained salvation by our Lord Jesus 
Christ," then, scattering abroad, like the rays of 
light from the sun's source, a revival influence was 
soon diffused, bearing its increasing thousands to the 
feet of our Immanuel as trophies of his redeeming 
grace. And farther, wider, has this influence spread. 
Millions upon millions of the race, up-borne by its 
matchless, constraining force, have been safely landed 
upon the rock of celestial prospect, having obtained 
salvation " by our Lord Jesus Christ ;" and millions 
upon millions more are now and will continue to be 
gathering there, until an " innumerable multitude, 
which no man can number," shall assemble around 
our Jesus as their King, and 

" Crown him Lord of all." 

" Who died for us." In our place instead of us. 
O what love is here ! How wonderful, both in de- 
gree and value ! Who could compute its worth ? 
He " died for us." And what a death was that — and 



184 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

fraught with consequences, how amazing ! From it 
flows the life of the world. Yes, brethren, we live, 
and the race lives, by the death of the Son of God. 
How pure and spotless, then, should be our lives! 
How perfectly consecrated to Jesus! How they 
should show forth his praise! How they should 
magnify his grace, " who died for us, that, whether 
we wake or sleep, we should live together with 
him ! " How benevolent was the object, " that, whether 
we wake or sleep " — that is, whether we are alive or 
dead at his second coming — " we should live together 
with him ! " " Live together with him % " The peo- 
ple of God, then, are not to be separated in heaven. 
There will be no sectarian divisions there, and no 
denominational inclosures there. The different 
branches of the Church on earth shall commingle 
and be blended into one in heaven. .No wickedly 
ambitious rivalry shall be there. No fawning, prose- 
lyting, sycophantic spirit shall be there. Yieing 
there may be, but if so, it will be for the worthiest 
praise, the greatest homage with which to greet him, 
" who died for us." 

Christians on earth only harmonize as Christ lives 
in them ; the more Christ is in them the greater their 
harmony, fellowship, and communion. Hence, in 
heaven, these will be perfect, because Christ shall 
dwell in them then, fully and eternally. He shall 
be at once the source and center of their life — an 



Christ Died for Us. 185 

ever-present, vital force ; an immortal, sustaining, and 
cementing power ; and an everlasting flowing fountain 
of joy, delight, and gladness. 

This subject suggests two practical thoughts : 

1. That our first business as sinners is to obtain 
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. 

2. That we should so adorn our Christian life here 
that we may be accounted worthy to live with Christ 
and the good in heaven. 

" So, o'er and o'er, and o'er and o'er, 

The cherubim 

And seraphim, 
With one accord the praises sing 
Of One who dies and lives again, 

And they with Him. 
There shining temple gates ajar 

Gleam like a star, 
And, back of glory, merged into a greater glory, 
A glory such as human heart 

Hath ne'er conceived, 

Towering sublime, 

Yet comforting, 
Benediction-like, the pierced hands outstretching, 

Is the One 
Of whom they sing the wondrous story." 



186 Sermons and Reminiscences. 



THE LOST SAVED. 

" For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was 
lost." — Luke xix, 10. 

IT is said that the great and good Dr. Alexander 
beckoned a brother minister to come near him 
just before he breathed his last, and that he whis- 
pered into his ear these memorable words, " My 
theological creed is narrowed down to this : i Jesus 
Christ came into the world to save sinners.' " And 
who will presume to say that he was not orthodox ? 
Must he not have taken his creed from the Bible ? 
Is there not in it a very marked relationship to our 
text : " The Son of man is come to seek and to save 
that which was lost." As there can be but one opin- 
ion on that point, let us consider, 

I. In what sense man was lost. 

1. He was lost beyond the power to save him- 
self, for he was lost by sinning. The law which was 
given him to obey was " holy, just, and good." Obe- 
dience to it was reasonable, in view of the fact that 
the greatest happiness of its subjects would thereby 
be secured. Man transgressed that law, and, in 
doing so, not only lost his happiness, but involved 
himself in guilt, and awoke to the fact that he was 



The Lost Saved. 187 

lost in misery. As, by taking an active poison into 
the stomach, that organ is not only affected, but also 
all other organs and members of the body; so sin- 
ning not only involved Adam and Eve in guilt and 
misery, but their offspring in depravity, on the prin- 
ciple that a bad tree cannot produce .good fruit. 
Hence it is that the race is depravedly lost, and 
that " there is none " who do naturally " seek after 
God." Surely, they who are thus lost, are lost be- 
yond the power to save themselves. The self -ruined 
can never be self-saved. In possession of a depraved 
nature, " the imaginations of the thoughts are evil, 
and only evil continually," while " the heart," the 
receptacle of the moral poison, " is deceitful above all 
things, and desperately wicked." 

Infant purity and infant innocency are not synony- 
mous terms. A child may be depraved, and yet be 
innocent ; but it cannot be pure and at the same time 
depraved. If it be depraved, it will sin as sure as it 
lives to know good and evil, unless an influence out 
of and above itself acts upon it, so as to prevent its 
sinning. This, thank God ! may be the case ; but if 
so, the child has not saved itself, but owes its salva- 
tion to another. If, then, children are so lost in de- 
pravity as to be unable to save themselves, who shall 
be found competent to save himself whose depravity 
has been allowed to run forth in streams of wicked 
thought and feeling, of sinful words and actions ? 



188 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

" Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard 
his spots ? then may ye also do good, that are accus- 
tomed to do evil." Had we never in infancy, youth, 
or manhood seen an exhibition of evil passion, or 
heard the utterance of an improper word, or beheld 
the performance of a wrong act, we should have dif- 
fered from our present selves amazingly. But there 
is no place on earth where men and women may be 
reared under such circumstances. On the contrary, 
they are from the first thrown among the petulant, 
the deceptive, and not unfrequently among the pro- 
fane and the obscene. At best, they are among a 
mixture of evil and good, where the evil is greatest, 
boldest, and most persistent in its efforts to be and to 
live. 

2. Men are lost through social corruption, and are 
therefore lost beyond the power to save themselves. 
We remember reading of a member of our Church 
in the West, who was asked, " How can you vote for 
Mr. G., or use your influence in any way to secure 
his election to Congress, as it is so well known that 
he does not believe in the existence of a hell?" 
He replied, "I want him to go to Washington for 
that purpose ; for, if he does not believe in a hell after 
being there one term, then it will prove to be a very 
different place from what I have taken it to be." 
Should any one doubt the correctness of our views, 
as to the extent to which we believe them to be lost, 



The Lost Saved. 189 

they have but to try to save themselves to become 
convinced that we are in the right. Powerful and 
seductive as is the influence of evil, God has so con- 
nected " the wages of sin " with the love and practice 
of it, that men are constantly advised, warned, and 
urged to abandon it. This they think, and resolve 
to do, especially when they see the end to which the 
course they are pursuing has brought others, and 
they set about it, but it is in their own strength, 
and they fail, and failing, they conclude it cannot be 
done. 

How many such are in every community? How 
many in almost every congregation ? To any one 
who may belong to this class I have a word of en- 
couragement. It is this : what it is utterly impossi- 
ble for you to do, it is possible, nay, even easy, for 
God to do for you. The more you try to save your- 
selves the more you will be convinced that you are 
lost beyond the power to ever do so ; but instead of 
despairing or desponding, call to mind the glorious 
truth that " the Son of man is come to seek and to 
save " you. That, lost as you are, you are not worth- 
less. That, to help you, " to seek and to save " you, 
the Son of God became " the Son of man." Lost as 
you are, you are not lost as were " the angels which 
kept not their first estate,"and abode not in the truth, 
and are "reserved in everlasting chains under dark- 
ness unto the judgment of the great day," for to none 



190 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

of tliem has the Son of man come " to seek and to 
save " them. They are, therefore, " suffering the 
vengeance of eternal fire." And yet how do men 
treat this Gospel proclamation ? Think you, that 
these lost angels would have treated it as you have 
done, and still are doing, had it been sent to them ? 
Nay, indeed, they would the rather have rolled a 
thanksgiving anthem up to heaven, which might 
have shaken the earth on its way. " The Son of 
man is come ! " This grand event, which was the 
burden of prophecy, the desire of the nations, and 
which kings and prophets longed to behold, and an- 
gels and a multitude of the heavenly hosts sung, and 
which " the wise men " and " the shepherds " cele- 
brated, is a perpetual verity, a living joy. 

" Joy to the world ! the Lord is come ; 

Let earth receive her King; 
Let every heart prepare him room, 

And heaven and nature sing." 

Who shall estimate the value or who compute the 
worth of souls, lost though they are, which the Son 
of man is come to seek and to save ? The value of 
the sun, as the source of light and heat to our earth, 
is great, but the time hastens when the sun shall be 
blown out, and " the earth and the works therein " 
shall be by 

" Raging flames destroyed ;" but the soul shall rise 
" Above the fiery void," and secure in her own existence, " re- 
main a thing of life forever." 



The Lost Saved. 191 

Immortality is its birthright. The sun knows 
nothing and feels nothing. The earth of itself is 
cold and fruitless. The soul knows and thinks and 
reasons and remembers and suffers and rejoices, and 
is also lit up with the fires of eternal existence, there- 
fore " the Son of man is come to seek and to save" it. 
Is the inquiry made, " How does he seek it ? " We 
answer, His way of seeking is his own, for it was 
self-suggested. He sends man to man, making his 
happiness here and in heaven to depend on the faith- 
ful utterance and needed warning. Hence the apos- 
tle says, " Now then we are embassadors for Christ, 
as though God did beseech you by us : we pray you 
in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Mark, 
it is not on the success of those whom the Saviour 
employs to seek the lost that their happiness de- 
pends, but on their faithfulness. Therefore he adds, 
" We are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them 
that are saved, and in them that perish : to the one we 
are the savor of death unto death ; and to the other the 
savor of life unto life." There is a mutual respon- 
sibility on those who seek and those who are sought. 
In every faithful sermon, in every earnest exhorta- 
tion, in every fervent prayer and sigh which comes 
from a burdened heart on your account, and in every 
yearning desire that follows you in your darkening 
pathway, " the Son of man " is seeking for you. 

You have listened to the stranger minister, and 



192 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

have wondered at the solicitude which has swelled 
his heart and trembled upon his lips, which has 
glowed in his eye, and thrilled in tones of pathetic 
earnestness in his voice ; and you have thought why 
is this, and how is this ? The explanation is found 
in the fact that " the Son of man," by his Spirit, was 
in his servant, seeking you. Again you have seen 
an unusual seriousness resting on the countenance of 
that pious father or mother, or some dear friend. 
Their eyes were filled with tears, their chins have 
quivered, and their hearts have heaved a sigh, for 
they were too full for utterance in words, and you 
have asked yourselves the question, " Why is this ? 
Again we answer, Christ was then seeking you. 
Would that they had told you of his presence there. 
It would have been a great relief to them, and might 
have been a saving blessing to you. Loved ones, 
with whom you have drank the cup of sorrow and of 
joy, have been taken from you. Some of them, un- 
der circumstances which furnished the fullest pledge 
of their future, blissful destiny ; and others, under 
those which forced the conviction on your minds 
that a rayless night was before them ; but in either 
case, " the Son of man " has been seeking you. Be- 
hold that shepherd, hurriedly going forth after his 
sheep! A terrible storm is approaching, and he is 
in earnest to gather them into the fold. There is a 
lamb which is playing on the soft green hillocks. 



The Lost Saved. 193 

Its mother will not leave it, so the shepherd con- 
trives to catch it, and bearing it tenderly in his arms, 
goes into the fold, where the mother follows, and 
both are safe. Thus, I have thought, "the Son of 
man," the great and " good Shepherd," often seeks 
to save parents by taking and placing their children 
in the glorious fold above. In some way, by some 
means, " the Son of man " seeks all the lost — many 
of them in ways already mentioned ; all of them by 
the ever-helping, blessed Spirit — and as he seeks all 
with the desire to save all, let us consider, 

II. How he saves them. On this point our re- 
marks will chiefly refer to those who are lost 
through personal sin and guilt. Such are saved, if 
saved at all, in compliance with certain conditions. 
For if such be unconditionally saved, then are they 
already saved ; and, if now saved, are saved in their 
sins, and not from them, and would be just as well 
off if not saved at all. If " the Son of man " saves 
men unconditionally, and they are not yet saved, then 
it follows that either he is not willing or is not able 
to save them. And if not both willing and able to 
save them now, he never will be, for " Jesus Christ 
is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." But this 
whole matter is put in a very clear light by "the 
Son of man" himself. He says in John i, 11-13, 
" He came unto his own, and his own received him 

not. But as many as received him, to them gave he 
i3 



194 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

power to become the sons of God, even to them that 
believe on his name : which were born, not of blood, 
. . . nor of the will of man, but of God." Mark ! To 
those who received him and believed on his name he 
gave power to become sons of God, and they were 
born of God. This condition has never been re- 
voked, and is, therefore, in full force to-day. Christ 
still comes to men, and still seeks them. If they 
will receive him and believe on his name, he will 
give them power to become the sons of God, and 
they shall be born of God. Thus the salvation of 
the Gospel amounts to something. It makes of the 
lost the sons of God. It will do this for you, and do 
it now. It did so in ancient times, and does so in 
this year of grace. 

Will any of you who have been sought so long by 
" the Son of man " now consent to be saved by him \ 
I never asked that question until I had been sought 
and saved by him ; and should not ask it now if I did 
not feel that he was now seeking you through me. 
O he would save you, and make of you a son of God, 
an heir of heaven. Come, yield just now! Time 
flies, and on its wings you are rapidly nearing eter- 
nity. Ask the good on earth and God in heaven to 
help you. Do not delay; your peril is great, your 
danger imminent. Now " the Son of man" is seek- 
ing to save you. Embrace him, receive him, believe 
on his name, and you will have passed the dangerous 



The Lost Saved. 195 

point. Kefuse and spurn him, and yon shall hear 
him say, "I have called, and ye have refused; I 
have stretched out my hand, and no man hath re- 
garded ... I also will laugh at your calamity; I 
will mock when your fear cometh." " The love of 
Christ constraineth us," and we therefore continue 
our appeal. What, sinner, must be your reflections 
in a dying hour or a judgment day, if you do not 
consent to be saved by "the Son of man?" Will 
they not be these, or similar \ " The Son of man " 
sought me — sought me on my way to the ball-room, 
to the gaming table, and to the groggery; sought 
me even in the chambers of harlotry, and sought me 
sober, and sought me drunken ; yea, sought me ever, 
but sought me alas! alas! in vain; and the conse- 
quence to me is, I am lost ! forever lost ! 

Unless there is no God, no heaven or hell, and no 
immortality for man, you must soon or later be the 
subject of reflections which shall sting your soul like 
the lash of an exterminating angel. " The Son of 
God " did not become " the Son of man " to make 
earth a play-ground, or to give men license to sin, 
nor did he become obedient to death, even the death 
of the cross, to simply show us how much more the 
Father loved us ; but he came to make a sacrifice for 
sin, and thereby to open the gates of life to those 
who for sin were in the highway to death and hell. 
He came " to seek and to save that which was lost," 



196 Sermons and Reminiscences 

and the object for which he came, disregarded by 
man, must stamp his soul with immeasurable guilt, 
and provide food for the worm that shall never die. 
"We close with the utterance of a glorious truth and 
a most important question : " The Son of man is 
come to seek and to save that which was lost." Will 
you seek to be saved by him ? And if so, when ? 
When? 



Religious Principle Developed. 197 



RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLE GRADUALLY DEVELOPED. 

" And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one 
toward another, and toward all men." — 1 Thess. iii, 12. 

I. The religious principle in man is gradually de- 
veloped. 

1. This agrees with the order of God in the crea- 
tion of the material universe. The account of this, 
as given in Genesis, represents it as the result of a 
succession of creative acts. " In the beginning, God 
created the heaven and the earth ; " that is, inani- 
mate, senseless matter ; then the varied forms of ani- 
mal organization, with the throbbing heart and the 
beating pulse ; and, finally, man, " erect and tall," 
with arching brow and intelligence, beaming eye and 
thrilling voice and capacious soul, endowed with rea- 
son, memory, thought, and will. What a mighty de- 
velopment of creative skill and power is here brought 
to our view ? How vast the difference between the 
creation of the " dust of the earth " and the creation 
of a " man ! " 

2. The work of atonement furnishes us with an- 
other illustration of the proposition. When the full- 
ness of time had come " The Lamb of God " made 
his appearance " in Bethlehem of Judea," but it was 



198 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

not until, through a succession of sufferings bearing 
him on to death, that he could send forth the hope- 
inspiring declaration to the world, " It is finished." 
The Captain of our salvation was made " perfect 
through sufferings." 

Now, as the religious principle in man is God- 
given, we have strong presumptive evidence that its 
development was designed to conform to his order in 
the work of creation and of the atonement. But the 
figures employed by inspiration to represent this in- 
ner life, or spiritual nature, are chiefly depended on 
to support the truth of the proposition. 

The leaven hid in three measures of meal, op- 
erating and diffusing its own nature, " till the whole 
lump is leavened." The "mustard-seed, among the 
smallest of seeds," but deposited in the earth, and 
having the principle of life which the God of nature 
gave it, it begins to germinate and to struggle up- 
ward. Soon it breaks the surface of the earth, the 
sun kisses it a welcome to his light and heat, and de- 
velopment is its history, until it affords a place of 
shelter and of rest to "the fowls of heaven." The 
grain, "first the blade, then the ear, after that the 
full corn in the ear." 

These all eloquently indicate development, gradual, 
but certain and important. Again, we are required to 
" add to our faith virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; 
and to knowledge, temperance ; and to temperance, 



Religious Principle Developed. 199 

patience, and to patience . . . cliarit j ; " also to " grow 
in grace." ISTow, as all this requires time, we see that 
the religious principle in man must be gradually de- 
veloped. 

This is also confirmed in the conversion of individ- 
uals. First, a single truth is fastened in the sinner's 
mind. A beam from the Ci Sun of Righteousness " 
warms it into germination. Conviction is the first 
result ; then repentance and faith, yielding the peace- 
able fruits of righteousness, gradually follow. In 
some a shorter, in others a longer, space of time is 
necessary. As in some soils and climates seeds 
spring up and attain maturity more rapidly and in 
less time than they do in others, so is it with " the 
good seed of the kingdom " and its growth in human 
hearts. Old, mature, and fruit-bearing Christians are 
of essential service to the world. The want of them 
is seriously felt in almost all communities. But age 
and long walking with Christ is necessary to this. 
Hence the necessity of early conversions and of con- 
stant faithfulness. 

II. The development of the religious principle in 
man is effected by divine agency. " The Lord make 
you," etc. If the seed of grace be sown by the di- 
vine hand its growth and development will be 
watched by the eye of divinity. But here, as in 
other departments of his work, God employs means ; 
for, as the frosts of winter are extracted from the 



200 Sermons and Keminiscences. 

earth by the influence of the sun, the " balmy breath 
of spring," and the resurrective appliances under 
God's control, so he produces the development of the 
religious principle in man by instrumentalities of his 
own appointment. 

God works in man to will for himself, and to do 
for others. The extent of the development indi- 
cated in the text could never be hoped for had 
not God to do with it. Increasing and abounding 
" in love one toward another," as subjects of " like 
precious faith," or as pilgrims on their way to the 
saint's everlasting rest, are no very great develop- 
ments of love, for it is natural for children of the 
same family to be kindly affectionate " one toward 
another ;" but a development of love which embraces 
" all men " is above nature, and must be the result of 
a divine agency. 

" Toward all men." How unlike the devisements 
of men. "With them the members of a party, the 
subscribers to a creed, either ecclesiastical or polit- 
ical, are to be cared for — yes, pure affection is to be 
cherished and cultivated among themselves, while all 
outside are turned over to the tender mercies of the 
devil. 

Now God would rebuke this we-have-Abraham-to- 
our-fatherism ; this superfine and fashionable exclu- 
sivism, by teaching us to "increase and abound in 
love . . . toward all men." 



Heligiotts Principle Developed. 201 

" Toward all men." I love that utterance. Di- 
vinity must have inspired it. It bears the impress of 
God. He sends out his love to all men. " God so 
loved the world" — the red man, the black man, as 
well as the white man — " that he gave his only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life;" and now he 
says to every man, " Love thy neighbor as thyself." 
Thus Christianity is made the greatest social element 
in existence. Its subjects are not only " one in 
Christ," but they are taught that a test of true disci- 
pleship is positive good-will toward the great brother- 
hood. 

" Toward all men." Here is the germ from which 
shall grow the trees whose leaves shall be " for the 
healing of the nations ;" or the fountain whence shall 
roll a stream through the world whose influence shall 
yet carry life and verdure and moral beauty into its 
spiritual wastes, until their inhabitants shall rejoice 
in a higher life and the possession of a more firmly 
predicated hope of heaven. Glorious event ! wonder- 
fully grand consummation ! 

By the increasing developments of the present, the 
signs of the times, and the infallible word of prophe- 
cy, we are assured of its approach. The different 
tribes of God's spiritual Israel are becoming better 
educated in regard to his benevolent purposes re- 
specting the race. They are less dogmatic, and less 



202 Seemons and Reminiscences. 

wedded to creeds, and at the same time more catholic 
in spirit and abundant in good works. These augur 
increasing light and increasing love, which are sure 
to be succeeded by a more thorough consecration of 
whatever is available as a means for the wider spread 
of truth and peace and righteousness. 

Let but the element of this great success, as ex- 
pressed in the words of the apostle, become the com- 
mon possession of all who name 

" The name to sinners given," 

and earth would soon begin to roll her halleluiahs 
round ; and the blended voices of the redeemed be- 
low and of the redeemed above would make music of 
richer, sweeter melody than fell on the ear of God 
" when the morning stars sang together, and all the 
sons of God shouted for joy." 

" Love only can the conquest win, 
The strength of sin subdue." 



Grace Should Not be Received in Yatn. 203 



GRACE SHOULD NOT BE RECEIVED IN VAIN. 

"Receive not the grace of God in vain." — 2 Cor. vi, 1. 

BUT what is grace ? Some say, " It is unmerited 
favor." It is that, and more. It is favor ex- 
pressed, and unmerited, of course, otherwise it would 
not be grace, for that which is or can be merited can 
never be dignified with the name of grace. Grace, 
or favor, like faith, depends upon expression for its 
life ; for, as faith without works is dead, so grace 
without manifestation is not grace — is nothing. " He 
that seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his 
bowels of compassion, how dwelleth the love of God 
in him ? " Simply, absolutely, not at all. Grace, 
like faith and love, is active, operative. It is ever 
going forth on missions of benevolence. With noise- 
less footsteps it goes to the homes of wretchedness, 
from bounty-laden hands it pours into wounded 
hearts the elixir of life, and from lips touched with 
seraphic fire it warbles the song of redemption in the 
ears of the desponding ones. 

Let us trace some of its more prominent manifesta- 
tions. And first among them is " the word of his 
grace." How appropriate this language ! Grace 
gave the word of the Lord to man. It reveals to 



204 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

man the thoughts of a God of grace — his gracious 
purposes respecting man, and the abundant provis- 
ions which grace has made for him. The Bible also 
records the wonderful achievements of grace, show- 
ing us how darkness has retired at its approach ; how 
hope has succeeded despair, the songs of joy the 
wailings of woe, and a higher spiritual life the 
death " in trespasses and sin." Could all the achieve- 
ments of grace, in its multiplied subjects, (to which, 
for the most part, the inspired writers do but simply 
allude,) be drawn out in detail, what a volume of 
captivating interest we should have. In the eleventh 
chapter of Hebrews we are furnished with a cata- 
logue of distinguished names, which is closed by 
the declaration, " These all died in the faith." But 
as to the specific achievements of grace in each of 
these, what mind can conceive ? what imagination 
can grasp ? Through the Eevelator we are informed 
that of all the tribes of the children of Israel there 
were sealed " a hundred and forty and four thou- 
sand." After this he adds : " I beheld, and, lo, a 
great multitude, which no man could number, of 
all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, 
stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, 
clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands ; 
and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to 
our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
the Lamb." ISTow grace conquered sin in all of 



Grace Should Not be Received m Vain. 205 

these, and blessed and saved them. O grace, thou 
art mighty ! 

In the gift of the Spirit we also recognize a promi- 
nent manifestation of grace. Noiseless as the blessed 
sunlight, it throws its gracious influence down upon 
us. Secretly, as are the agencies in nature, expelling 
the frosts of winter and enrobing the earth in beauty, 
does the Spirit's pervading presence subdue within 
us the enmity of carnal minds, thus preparing them 
for the reception of the " good seed of the kingdom." 
Gently, as the touch of an angel's wing, does it woo 
us in thought to God and heaven, when earthly cares 
and trials press upon us ; for the Spirit's mission is 
most gracious, supplying the sin-darkened with light, 
the sin-ruined with hope, the weak with strength, 
and the dead with life. Let us bid him welcome to 
our hearts, for fellowship with him shall make us 
happy in this world, and in the life of the world to 
come. 

But grace, embodied in " God manifest in the 
flesh," is the crowning expression of it, and one on 
which the thoughts of men may dwell with increas- 
ing interest for ever and ever ; for, in fact, the 
word, in its fullness of instruction and promise — the 
Spirit, in its abundant light and consolation, in its 
awakening power and renewing energy — would never 
have been ours but for the sacrificial offering of "the 
Son of God." He, leading captivity captive, received 



206 Sermons and Keminiscences. 

— purchased — these gifts for men. 'No marvel then, 
that, as Christians gather around the cross, and hang 
their hopes of Heaven on Jesus' mighty arm, and 
find their confidence in him honored, that they 
should sing, 

" Here the whole Deity is known, 

Nor dares a creature guess 
Which of the glories brighter shone, 

The justice or the grace." 

Linked with these expressions of grace is every 
rational hope of pardon here and of holiness and 
happiness hereafter. Yet these, however interesting 
and important, are not of themselves sufficient. 
They are general, not specific. They are uncondi- 
tional, and, with no more than these, we " are yet in 
our sins." "Without pardon we are guilty, without 
sanctification we are polluted. " Therefore being 
justified by faith, we have peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ." " If we confess our sins, he 
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness." The grace, 
then, of justification is only enjoyed on condition. 
The former manifestations of grace — the Bible, the 
Holy Spirit, and the Son of God — come to men un- 
sought. The latter — the pardon of sin and heart 
purity — are ours only in complying with conditions, 
clearly expressed. The former are preparative, the 
latter are completive. 



Grace Should Not be Received in Yain. 207 

The light, the blessed light of the sun, is abundant 
and free ; but we can only enjoy the scenes of loveli- 
ness and beauty lying within reach of our vision by 
opening our eyes and looking in the right direction. 
Music, vieing in sweetness and power with that which 
is poured from seraphs' hearts, comes from the well- 
drilled band on the deck of the beautiful steamer ; 
but if we would drink it in we must get within hear- 
ing distance, and be sure that our ears are unstopped. 
By opening our eyes and ears we do not purchase or 
merit the enjoyment flowing from these sources of 
pleasure — the doing of these things is the condition 
of enjoyment. By eating, the starving man pays not 
for the food which the hand of charity has brought 
him. Yet his eating is the condition on which his 
life is prolonged. 

Thus God proposes to save men from guilt and 
pollution. A plenitude of provision has been made, 
but a believing and humble acceptance of it is indis- 
pensable. 



208 Sekmons and Reminiscences. 



THE MIND OF CHRIST. 

"Let this mind be in you, -which was also in Christ Jesus." — 
Phil, ii, 5. 

MIND and not matter is principally affected by 
religion. The state of the heart and not of the 
head is the great condition of salvation. Hence it is 
only by the renewing of the mind that men can 
prove " what is that good, and acceptable, and per- 
fect will of God." 

I. Our text intimates that men do not naturally 
have the mind that was in Christ ; it also teaches 
them that they may have that mind. In support of 
the fact intimated, we have but to contrast some of 
the leading traits in the mind of Christ with those 
naturally found in the minds of men. And, 

1. Humility was a characteristic of the mind of 
Christ. Although he had "glory with the Father 
before the world was," and received the worship of 
" all the angels of God," yet he " made himself of no 
reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
and was made in the likeness of men: and being 
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and 
became obedient unto death, even the death of the 
cross." That is, he laid aside the robes of regal inaj- 



The Mind of Christ. 209 

esty and took upon himself the drapery of an earthly 
tabernacle — the crown of universal sovereignty, and 
accepted one of thorns — the worship of adoring ones 
in the empyrean of bliss, to receive instead the hate 
and the abuse of wicked men and devils united. In 
a word, he consented to transfer himself from an 
abode of purity to one of moral and social corrup- 
tion, and from a throne of life to a cross of death. 
And, let it be remembered, that none of these things 
were done in obedience to any extraneous or outward 
force, but to the impulse of his own divine nature, 
and you have an exhibition of humility which must 
command your respect, even if it fails to win your 
love. 

2. Benevolence is another leading trait in "the 
mind that was in Christ." Ay, it was this which 
gave birth to his humility. It was his benevolence 
that brought him from the heavens and cradled him 
in a manger. " For ye know the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your 
sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty 
might be rich." During the period of his public 
ministry "he went about doing good," by leaving 
his blessings on the bodies and souls of the people. 
The dumb were helped to speak and sing, the deaf 
to hear, the blind to see, and the lame to leap like a 
hart ; the sorrowful were made to rejoice, the af- 
flicted were comforted, the guilty were forgiven, the 
14 



210 Sermons and Kemtniscences. 

polluted cleansed, the despairing to be joyful in 
hope, and the dying to conquer even in the hour 
of death. 

3. Forgiveness was also a trait in the mind that 
was in Christ. Of all the beings who have walked 
this earth Christ was the purest and the best ; yet of 
all these he was the subject of the greatest abuse. 
He was spit on, mocked, taunted, jeered at, derided, 
insulted, and finally put to death. Still, 

" From the cross uplifted high, 
Where the Saviour deigns to die," 

there rolls up to the eternal throne the petition, " Fa- 
ther, forgive them ; for they know not what they do." 
This element in the character of Christ, this trait of 
his mind, even modern infidelity forbears to assail. 
It may be for the reason that there is a presentiment 
in the minds of its disciples that they may possibly 
need its exercise in their own behalf. Should it 
be so with any now, let me assure them from my 
own experience that this will surely be the case, and 
that they may save themselves from a vast amount of 
poignant sorrow by testing Christ's forgiving spirit 
now. Dark, indeed, and long was the night of infi- 
delity that was upon my soul, and terrible beyond 
description were the thoughts which thronged my 
mind when I heard and understood the thunders of 
the law. The first great truth which then, with un- 



The Mind of Christ. 211 

cheering ray, entered my soul and kept it from de- 
spair was this : " There is forgiveness with God." 
Weeks of conflict followed, known to none but God 
and myself, ere I found the sentence of pardon in my 
heart ; but when it came, as come it did, the strug- 
gle ceased, my troubled soul was all at rest, and Jesus 
was the sweetest name my lips could utter. Blessed 
be God ! it is so yet ; for now, as then, I am allowed 
to associate with it the glorious truth that he is still a 
forgiving Jesus. 

" Five bleeding wounds he bears, 

Received on Calvary ; 
They pour effectual prayers, 
They strongly plead for me : 
1 Forgive him, forgive ! ' they cry, 
Xor let that ransomed sinner die.' " 

4. Religious devotion was another trait in the 
mind that was in Christ Jesus. Even at the age of 
twelve years, when chided by his reputed parents for 
the trouble he had caused them by remaining " in 
the temple, disputing with the lawyers and doctors," 
he replied, " Wist ye not that I must be about my 
Father's business % " His work was to do the will of 
his Father, and to finish the work given him. Xo 
toil, no suffering, and no sacrifice was considered too 
great in the prosecution of Ms mission unto the bod- 
ies and the souls of men. He came into the world 
to do good, he lived to that end, and died to consum- 



212 Seemons and Reminiscences. 

mate it. Difficulties lay in liis way, but his religious 
devotion conquered them ; formidable oppositions 
thronged him at every step, but he scattered them 
by the zeal of his majestic spirit, passing and press- 
ing on toward the disenthrallment of the race. And 
now the final crisis approaches, and the legions of 
hell are let loose against him. Will he not now fal- 
ter ? Listen to what he says : " Now is my soul 
troubled ; and what shall I say ? Father, save me 
from this hour : but for this cause came I unto this 
hour." It was thus that he met the crisis. No 
wonder that he came from it shouting, "It is fin- 
ished ! " 

Now that we are done noticing these traits in 
the mind that was in Christ Jesus, we ask if you 
have ever discovered them naturally existing in the 
minds of men ? Have you thus found them in 
your own minds ? Rather, have you not detected in 
your own and in other minds exactly the opposite 
of these traits? Are you not naturally proud, in- 
stead of being humble ? more selfish than benevo- 
lent ? more inclined to seek revenge than to be for- 
giving ? and more, far more, to throw off religious 
obligation than to be controlled by an unswerving 
Christian principle ? Come look at your real moral 
features. They ought to very much resemble 
Christ's. His was a symmetrical character, and, be- 
cause of this, was lovely. You respect it, and if 



The Min t d of Christ. 213 

yours was like it, it would be respected also. Kow, 
do not evade these inquiries ; they are made in kind- 
ness, and you will and must meet them. O dare to 
meet tliem now, and honestly give your thoughts to 
them, and, if need be, ask God to help you to hold 
them in your minds, for they are seeds of truth 
from which may grow eternal joys, even the fruits of 
" the mind that was in Christ." 

Let us now, 
• II. Consider what the text teaches. 

It is, I know, a great thing for men who are natu- 
rally destitute of the mind that was in Christ Jesus 
to persuade themselves, or to be persuaded by others, 
to really think or believe such a possession to be 
possible ; yet we believe such a thing possible, and 
we predicate this belief on the following considera- 
tions : 

1. The nature of conversion. This always in- 
volves the idea of a change. There can be no con- 
version without a change, and whenever souls are the 
subjects of conversion they are always changed from 
bad to good. The change is so radical that the indi- 
vidual is declared to have passed " from death unto 
life," and to have become " a new creature." And 
this is, indeed, true, in the character of his 
thoughts, the objects of his ambitions, the subjects 
of Ins solicitudes, and in the source of his joys. It 
is true, as to the friendships he seeks, the choice of 



214: Sermons and Reminiscences. 

liis associates, and in the shaping of his destiny. In 
his measure he* is humble, as Christ was humble ; be- 
nevolent, as he was benevolent ; forgiving, as he was 
forgiving ; and strongly bound to religious principle, 
as was he. Again, 

2. We predicate our belief that man may have the 
mind that was in Christ on the divinit}' of the power 
by which the change wrought in conversion is ac- 
complished. It is not by the will of man, but by the 
power of God. It is not by outward ordinances, but 
by the operations of the Holy Ghost. It is " not by 
might, nor by power" — that is, human — "but by my 
Spirit, saith the Lord ;" and yet this divine energy 
of power is not exercised arbitrarily. A persuasive 
force goes before it, begetting a desire, or a " hun- 
gering and thirsting " for that change — that new cre- 
ation, until the soul becomes vehement and impera- 
tive in its demands for the higher life and the holy 
joys produced by Christ within it, " the hope of 
glory." It is the work of the Divine One. And he 
is able to accomplish it, as able as he ever can be ; 
but he will not do it without the consent of man. 
As some soils are naturally sterile, and will not, in 
their natural state, grow plentiful harvests, but must 
first be cultivated and enriched, so it is with human 
hearts. They are naturally unproductive of good ; 
but God works in us " both to will and to do of his 
good pleasure," and commands us to " work out " 



The Mind of Ciikist. 215 

our " own salvation with fear and trembling." O let 
us not resist the plow of truth, the rain of grace, 
nor the seed of life ! and God shall make of our 
hearts a garden, in which shall grow the fruits of 
righteousness, and all the traits of the mind " which 
was also in Christ Jesus." But we further argue the 
possibility of this, 

3. From the necessities of the case. Men must be 
good if they would be happy. " To be good is to be 
happy." The one is the cause, the other the se- 
quence. You cannot separate them. And yet how 
many act as if these things were not so, and are 
dreaming of going to heaven, and of being happy 
there, simply because they are there, and not because 
there is an affinity between their moral natures and 
that holy place. Now, the Bible represents God as 
being the attraction, force, and center of heaven. 
" In thy presence is fullness of joy ; at thy right hand 
there are pleasures for evermore." But must not men 
become allied to God before they can be joyful in his 
presence, or experience pleasure at his right hand? 
Do not the laws of mind and of happiness demand 
this ? "Were it a thing possible for a holy angel, and 
as such, to seek enjoyment in dancing a cotillion, or 
imbibing distilled damnation ? Is there any affinity 
between St. Paul and a modern rumseller ? Are 
there any points of resemblance between a licentious 
man or woman and the spirits of just men made per- 



216 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

feet ? What is it but the absence of oneness of mind 
that is the cause of the frequent cases of divorce ? 
And why is it that so many men do not and will not 
bear to hear the truth? Why, but for the simple 
reason that they have not learned to love the truth. 
Would they but make her acquaintance, they would 
no sooner flatter themselves with the idea of getting 
to heaven, and of being happy simply by getting 
there, than would the beggar conclude that he had 
become rich by his being allowed to sit down in the 
princely palace. We must become like God before 
we can enjoy his presence. Hence the command, 
" Be ye holy ... for I the Lord your God am holy." 
This is the great, the universal, condition of happi- 
ness. If, then, God desires or wills our happiness, 
(and I think there is no truth more clearly taught in 
the Bible,) he must have made it possible for us to 
obtain the mind that was in Christ Jesus ; or, in 
other words, to obtain Gospel holiness. You feel 
this to be truth, but are disposed, it may be, to act 
upon the thought, this condition of happiness will 
be performed by death, or it will be wrought by a 
process of suffering to which the soul will be sub- 
jected in the endless future. With the Bible in 
your hand, do you, can you, thus ignore " the blood 
of the everlasting covenant," and set aside the efficacy 
of " the washing of regeneration," and " the renew- 
ing of the Holy Ghost ? " Will you, dare you, thus 



The Mind of Christ. 217 

treat Christ crucified ? I beseech and entreat you 
all to rigidly scrutinize the opinions you entertain 
respecting this vital point, and at any sacrifice of 
these to reject those which do not, have not, and 
will never lead you to seek the mind that was in 
Christ. I feel that this is the desideratum. That 
it is the great and pressing want of both the Church 
and the world. Opinions, theories, and creeds are 
worth nothing to you or me only as they influence 
us to become more and more as was Christ Jesus. 
Opinions in the head weigh nothing against divine 
principles in the heart. Only these can hold the 
soul to her heavenly moorings amid the fearful and 
terrible upheavings of the sinful elements which are 
cursing the race. These shall yet accomplish a glo- 
rious mission. Shall they not have a practical illus- 
tration in our hearts and lives % May God help us 
thus to decide ! 

The Church is weak for the want of the mind 
that was in Christ ; the world is unhappy because of 
this want. Neither can be saved without it. Both 
may be saved with it. This is the crowning excel- 
lency, this the real glory of the Church. In the 
larger possession, the fuller development of this 
mind is, in an important sense, suspended the weal 
or the woe of the untold and unnumbered millions 
of the fruitful future. 

Men and women of God, seek this high endow- 



218 Sermons and Beminiscences. 

ment. And remember that your personal happi- 
ness here and in heaven demands and depends upon 
its possession. O let the mind that was in Christ be 
in you, not only for your own sake, but for the sake 
of others. 

" Join all the glorious names 

Of wisdom, love, and power, 
That ever mortals knew, 
Or angels ever bore ; 
All are too mean to speak his worth, 
Too mean to set the Saviour forth. 

" Great Prophet of our God, 

Our tongues shall bless thy name ; 
By thee the joyful news 
Of our salvation came ; 
The joyful news of sins forgiven, 
Of hell subdued, and peace with heaven. 

11 thou almighty Lord, 

Our Conqueror and King, 
Thy scepter and thy sword, 
Thy reigning grace, we sing : 
Thine is the power ; behold we sit 
In willing bonds beneath thy feet." 



Spiritual Grafting. 219 



SPIRITUAL GRAFTING. 

" Receive with meekness the ingrafted word, which is able to save 
your souls." — James i, 21. 

AMONG- Mr. Wesley's contemporaries there were 
those who contended that the children of holy 
parents were necessarily holy also, and, therefore, did 
not need regeneration. To this Mr. Wesley, in sub- 
stance, replied : " The seed of the fruit of the crab- 
tree, if planted, will produce crab-trees; but if the 
crab-tree be cut off and grafted with ever so excel- 
lent a variety of apple, the seed from which, if 
planted, will produce the crab-tree, the grafting only 
changing the fruit and not the seed." Hence the 
utility of grafting, hence the necessity of spiritual 
regeneration, or scriptural conversion. 

A moment now with a definition of the terms, 
meekness and ingrafted. "Meekness," says Buck- 
minster, "is a grace which Jesus alone inculcated, 
and which no ancient philosopher seems to have un- 
derstood or recommended." 

Webster says, " It is submission to the divine will, 
without murmuring or peevishness." " Ingraft," 
says Mr. Webster, " to insert, as a cion of one tree 
or plant into another for propagation ; to propagate 



220 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

by incision ;" " to plant or introduce something for- 
eign into that which is native for the purpose of 
propagation." 

Thus Dryden says, " This fellow would ingraft a 
foreign name upon our stock." 

It also means " to set or fix deep and firm." 

Thus Shakespeare says, "Ingrafted love he bears 
to Caesar." 

If you succeed in keeping these definitions in your 
memories you will be the more likely to profit by 
the circumstance which I am about to relate, and the 
various lessons suggested by it, all of which, I trust, 
will be illustrative of our subject. 

In the spring of 1861 or '62, while making a num- 
ber of pastoral visits one day, I came where a man 
and a little boy was at work on a beautiful piece of 
ground. The stumps and roots and stones had all 
been removed, and it had been very deeply but firm- 
ly plowed, so that it had the appearance of a nicely 
fitted large garden. Entering into conversation with 
the man, I soon learned that he designed it for an 
apple-tree nursery. I also learned in a few minutes 
a number of interesting facts relative to that busi- 
ness which, during the years that have since been 
passing, have suggested thoughts and lessons which 
will now be presented in this discourse, and which, it 
is hoped, may both interest and profit those to whom 
they are addressed. 






Spiritual Grafting. 221 

In the February and March preceding the man 
referred to had grafted three thousand little roots 
or stocks, which they had grown from apple seeds 
the previous year. The seeds had been gathered at 
the cider-mill, and, as the poorest varieties of apples 
are used in cider-making, the seeds were not likely 
to produce trees that would bear the best varieties of 
apples. Hence the necessity of grafting. The cions, 
or grafts, had been gotten with great care from 
healthy trees, and of choice varieties, in the bearing 
orchards of that section of country ; and now that 
they had been nicely set in the little stocks, they 
were brought forth out of the cellar, where they had 
been kept, and were being transplanted into the 
warm, mellow soil prepared for them. I think they 
were placed one foot apart, in very straight drills; 
and that these drills, or little furrows, were about 
three feet from each other, so that a horse and a 
small plow or cultivator could pass between them. 
Thirty of these drills, one hundred feet in length, 
with trees in each a foot apart, would just contain 
the three thousand grafted stocks, and would only 
require thirty-four square rods. These little stocks, 
all living and doing well for three years, would be- 
come trees an inch in diameter, and from five to six 
feet in height. At this time in their history they are 
generally sold and taken into different parts of the 
country and set out into orchards. 



222 Sermons and Keminiscences. 

Thus, these trees, at even twenty cents per tree, 
would bring the sum of §600 ; and this, doubtless, is 
a larger profit than such a piece of ground would 
yield from any other production. It was, therefore, 
both natural and easy for me to think that, as all 
these little stocks needed grafting, so all children, 
having sprang from that man, 

" Whose guilty fall 
Corrupts his race, and taints us all," 

need a new nature grafted into them if they would 
ever become " trees of righteousness of the Lord's 
planting." 

Another very natural and easy thought was, that it 
were much better for these little stocks to be grafted 
while small and tender than to wait until they were 
old and hard, for, if grafted young and in the root, 
the trees can easily be made to grow straight and 
smooth and beautiful ; and this suggested the thought 
that it is very important that all little children should 
be early brought to Christ, and put into spiritual 
nurseries, that they may grow up " in the nurture 
and admonition of the Lord." 

Among my first recollections are three fall-pippin 
trees in my father's orchard. Away back, far be- 
yond my ability to comprehend the process of graft- 
ing, the original stocks of these had been cut off, 
more than a foot from the roots, and grafts inserted. 



Spiritual Grafting. 223 

At that point, in each, a very ugly bulge appeared. 
The grafts had largely outgrown the original stocks, 
and, from long and abundant bearing, the trees were 
leaning badly, causing them to compare unfavorably 
with their neighbors, which had straight and graceful 
forms. 

Thus, I have thought, it is with those who are not 
converted until they have sinned long, and by often 
resisting the Holy Spirit, and those who in early life 
" receive with meekness the ingrafted word, which is 
able to save" their "souls." Though both bear the 
same kind of fruit, it is in different degrees of full- 
ness and perfection. 

As in nature all pine-trees are one, though differ- 
ing very much in perfection and value, so in grace 
all Christians are one, though differing considerably 
in thought, and in the development of the spiritual 
life and principle. I need not say God cannot make 
such Christians of old sinners as he can of the young, 
but I need to say, and will say, that he does not. 
An old sinner, becoming a Christian, is happy, and 
has personal union and communion with Christ, and, 
if he abide in him, will "become meet for the inher- 
itance of the saints in light ;" but the child, receiving 
Jesus, and abiding in him, becomes " rooted and 
built up in him," and shall so grow up into him 
in all things that he shall " adorn the doctrine of 
God, his Saviour," by blessing the world with the 



224 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

influence of nearly a whole life consecrated to his 
Redeemer. 

Another natural and easy thought was — these three 
thousand little stocks of trees are not put into this 
well-prepared piece of ground that they may abide 
there, but, rather, that they may be helped to grow and 
develop, and afterward be taken up and set out into 
well-arranged orchards, where each tree will be ex- 
pected to bear fruit after its kind for the use and the 
profit of the owner; and right here was born another 
thought. It was this : The family and the Sunday- 
school should give culture and growth to the child- 
Christian, so that he may be prepared to assume in- 
dividual responsibility by taking the place of some 
old honored tree in God's orchard, whose life has 
been " exhaled to heaven ;" or, in association with 
others of the great family, or Sunday-school nursery, 
be used to plant a Christian community, or state, in 
some hitherto unoccupied region, or " where heathen 
idol-gods adore." 

Another thought was : These little stocks have 
not only all been grafted, and with a good variety, 
but with good varieties ; and this I think but illus- 
trative of the different fruits growing on the Chris- 
tian tree. 

In his Epistle to the Galatians St. Paul mentions, 
as " the fruit of the Spirit," nine varieties, love being 
the first and chief. " The fruit of the Spirit is love, 



Spiritual Grafting. 225 

joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
meekness, temperance." 

A whole orchard bearing but one kind of apple 
might not be worthless simply on that account, for if 
there were other orchards contiguous, bearing other 
varieties, exchanges could be made; but the more 
convenient and economical way is almost universally 
adopted ; that is, of having different varieties in the 
same inclosure. 

Thus with the individual Christian and the local 
Church in any community. Either might not be 
wholly useless in possession of only " love," or " joy," 
or " peace," but either would be quite as happy, and 
far more useful, did they, in addition, exhibit " long- 
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tem- 
perance." 

Some orchards are not grafted until they come into 
bearing, and the fruit not being such as is desired, 
part of the branches are " cut off," and new and bet- 
ter varieties are introduced. This, however, renders 
apple gathering difficult and unpleasant, as, falling 
together, they have to be separated for specific use — 
the fair from the knurly, the good from the worth- 
less. Thus, I have thought, it frequently is with in- 
dividuals and Churches. There is such a mixing and 
commingling of the obedient and the disobedient, of 
the broad and the narrow, the generous and the pe- 
nurious, the precious and the vile, as to suggest the 
15 



226 Sermons and Eeminiscences. 

thought and enforce the conviction that the spiritual 
grafting had been very imperfectly done, and that 
"roots of bitterness" still remained, into which the 
ingrafted word had not been received with sufficient 
" meekness " to save the soul. 

In the grafting of trees the stocks and the grafts 
are as " clay in the hands of the potter." That is, 
they are not used with any intelligent resisting or 
receptive force on the part of either. The stock has 
no power to say, I will not receive that graft ; nor 
has the graft any ability to ask that it may be in- 
serted into the root or stock ; but the spiritual graft- 
ing is done on other and higher principles. In its 
accomplishment the will of God and the will of man 
always co-operate. The phraseology of the text 
teaches, " the ingrafted word " is received. The will 
has given its consent to the reception. The ingrafted 
word is received " with meekness " on the part of the 
free and intelligent recipient. Having become con- 
vinced that his nature should be changed and re- 
newed by an intimate, invisible, yet real and living 
connection and communion with a higher and per- 
fectly holy nature, the rational soul has decided to 
submit to the process, be it never so painful; 

The cutting away of the growths of sin by " the 
sword of the Spirit " has been painful in the ex- 
treme ; but the introduction of the Christ-spirit and 
the Christ-life with the Christ-peace and the Christ- 



Spiritual Grafting. 227 

joy have far more than compensated for the cost, 
the struggle, and the suffering ; for the soul now has 
her " fruit unto holiness," " and the end," in pros- 
pect, " everlasting life." Now there is love where 
was hatred, " joy " where was sorrow, and " peace " 
where was strife ; " long-suffering " where were im- 
patience and fretfulness, " gentleness " where were 
rudeness and harshness, " goodness " where was vile- 
ness, "faith" where were doubt and unbelief, "meek- 
ness " where were self-will and arrogance, and " tem- 
perance " where were passion, indulgence of lust, evil 
appetites, and propensities. 

Thus is seen the difference between having the 
Christ-spirit and the Satan-spirit in us. One makes 
our lives here peaceful and happy and useful, and at 
its close opens to our souls the gates of pearl and 
streets of gold in an eternal heaven ; and the other 
makes our lives here miserable and wretched, and a 
curse to others, and, when it closes, opens up to our 
souls an entrance into outer darkness in an endless, 
comfortless hell. 

Workers in the Sunday-school, I trust you will not 
deal with the children and youth in such an impor- 
tant sense committed to your care as if they were lit- 
tle trees, which you think are so straight and promis- 
ing and perfect that they had better be left to grow 
as they are, until it can more fully be seen what kind 
of fruit they will bear, but, the rather, labor to insert 



228 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

a Gospel bud into their moral natures, whose growth 
and fruit shall prove you to be workmen which need- 
eth not to be ashamed, and whose work shall abide 
the tests of time and the decisions of the last judg- 
ment, yielding you " fruit that shall abound to your 
account," 

" While life, and thought, and being last, 
Or immortality endures." 



God's Woed a Mieeoe. 229 



GOD'S WORD A MIRROR. 

" For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto 
a man beholding his natural face in a glass : for he beholdeth him- 
self, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man 
he was. But whoso looketb into the perfect law of liberty, and con- 
tinueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the 
work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." — James i, 23-25. 

ft T)UT," says the objector, "looking-glasses were 

JJ not made until long after this epistle was 
written." Be it so, yet highly polished stones served 
the same purpose, and were called mirrors, the name 
we now give to looking-glasses. The word of God 
is a mirror, and men may look into it by feeling, 
hearing, and seeing. 

Let us consider some of its qualities. An ordinary 
mirror, 

1. Reflects the object before it, be it man or beast 
or bird ; the insect on sportive wing, the buzzing 
fly, or crawling reptile ; the tender herb, the blushing 
flower, or lofty towering pine ; the bubbling spring, 
the rippling rill, or the brimming river; the quiet 
vale, the story-telling glen, or the awe-inspiring 
mountain. 

Thus it is with the word of God. Do men bring 
to it proud hearts ? Their pride is made manifest. 



230 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

Do they bring to it unbelieving minds ? They are 
reproved for them ; or, affections set on created 
good, they are faithfully advised as to the conse- 
quences. Are the opposites of all these brought 
before it ? Their possessors are made to see their 
value, and are given to know themselves as being 
heirs of God, and as being on their way to join in 
the triumphal march of the mighty hosts on the 
plains of immortality. 

2. Ordinary mirrors are prized in proportion to 
the perfection with which they reflect the image of 
the things before them. True, a few ugly-featured 
people may prize a false mirror to a truth-telling 
one, but the large majority of mankind really think 
more of those which are exactly true to nature. 
The reflections of the objects before the word of 
God are rigidly correct. Its testimony in regard to 
the nature of sin, its guilt and offensiveness in the 
sight of God, the danger to which it exposes all who 
cherish and practice it, is " faithful and true." Still, 
because of this quality in the word of God, some men 
are very cautious how they get before it, and thus do 
they corroborate the testimony of this spiritual mir- 
ror, in that they will not come to the light, lest their 
deeds be made manifest. We know that a man may 
persuade himself to think that he has a clean face 
when he has not ; but is he justifiable in not looking 
into a mirror for fear of being driven to the wash- 



God's Word a Mirror. 231 

bowl % Thus sinners, by the help of the devil, may 
flatter themselves that they are very pure and good 
in heart, but this can never justify them in neglect- 
ing the Bible for fear it will urge them with a 
mighty force to hasten to Calvary. A man's face is 
not made unclean by looking into a mirror. His 
looking into one only reveals that fact, and makes 
him conscious of it. So with looking into the Gos- 
pel glass. It makes no man's heart sinful or guilty. 
If it be thus, disobedience to God but helps him to a 
knowledge of that fact. What must be thought of 
an ugly or unclean faced man or woman who should 
demolish their looking-glass because, when they ap- 
peared before it, it failed to reflect a specimen of 
perfect beauty and cleanliness ? Would you not ac- 
count them insane or idiotic ? What, then, should 
be the judgment of all right-minded men against 
those who labor to tear down and destroy the great 
spiritual mirror God has hung up in the Christian 
temples and homes of our land because it reflects so 
truly the moral corruptions and impurities of their 
sinful and sinning hearts % 

It is possible that there are some persons who are 
now addressed that have, for some reason or other, 
learned to dislike the Bible. Allow me, in all kind- 
ness, and with a sincere desire for your highest good, 
to inquire why this dislike ? Is not the Bible true ? 
Then, surely, it has done you no injustice, Would 



232 Sermons axd Reminiscences. 

it not as faithfully reflect a good heart as a bad one ? 
It surely would. 

How very self-complacent you have felt, after 
cleansing your persons and clothing them from a 
well-furnished wardrobe, as you obtained a view of 
yourselves at the glass. 

Please, go to-day, nay, this hour, to " the fountain 
opened for sin and uncleanness," wash you " in the 
blood of the Lamb," and the heavenly Bridegroom 
will adorn you with the garment of salvation ; then 
apj^ear before God's perfect mirror, and you will 
thank him that it is so true to nature. Xot that you 
will be more pleased with self than before, but with 
what Christ has made you ; for, while an ordinary 
mirror reflects external objects, God's mirror reflects 
internal features and principles. It also reflects the 
nature of God, his attributes and perfections, his jus- 
tice, goodness, and love, his mercy and his grace. 
It also reflects the remedy for sin, Jesus — the Lamb 
of God, the beloved of the Father, his only Son. In 
it we behold him leaving the throne, the throne of 
glory. Yet he exchanges it for the manger, for suf- 
fering in the garden, for crucifixion on the cross, and 
for the gloom and the darkness of the grave. Yes, 
we behold him dying for us, dying that the race 
might not die eternally. The Jews crucify the Son 
of God ; but John holds up the spiritual mirror be- 
fore the cross, and there is reflected in capitals of 



God's Word a Mirror. 233 

living light " tlie Lamb of God, which taketh away 
the sin of the world." 

We look into that mirror again, and a moving 
scene is reflected. Jesus is ascending. A cloud re- 
ceives and hides him from the enrapturing gaze of 
loving and adoring ones. And has he gone % Gone 
and hidden himself from men forever ? Let us look 
into God's mirror again. I see a glorious image re- 
flected, and its form is that of the " Son of man." He 
is seated upon a throne, which is labeled Mediatorial. 
Around it are clustering and blending the glories of 
the infinite Godhead. Beneath the throne and pro- 
ceeding from it flows the river of the water of life 
earthward — that is, men ward ; and even you and me- 
ward. Yes, blessed be God! it has reached us, and 
we, therefore, believe it will yet reach the millions, 
for it is Jesus who gives direction to this stream of 
life, and all who feel its saving virtue are ready to 
join in glad acclaim, 

" Flow, wondrous stream, with glory crowned, 
Flow on to earth's remotest bound ; 
And bear us, on thy gentle wave, 
To him who all thy virtues gave." 

3. Once more. An ordinary mirror only reflects 
the image of objects before it by the light falling 
upon it. ]S!"one have ever been made that would 
serve the purpose intended in the absence of light. 
This is verily true in regard to the spiritual mirror. 



234 Sermons and Keminiscences. 

The light of the Holy Spirit is indispensable, for 
without it there is no reflection. True, there are 
those who ignore the idea or fact of his agency in the 
work of human enlightenment and salvation ; but, 
judging of the theories which they professedly get 
from the word of God without it, we are constrained 
to think its light would have helped them amazingly. 
Surely, it never helped them to the idea that Christ 
was only a man, or, at most, a super-angelic being ; 
that men are only partially depraved ; that regenera- 
tion is chiefly affected by immersion ; and that all of 
the Holy Spirit which it is possible for men to pos- 
sess is in the written word. 

Now, as it is utterly impossible for any one to get 
a perfect or even good image of himself in the dark, 
though standing before the most perfect looking- 
glass ; so it is absolutely vain for men to try to get a 
faithful impression of the great principles of Chris- 
tianity from the Bible without the Holy Spirit's help- 
ing their infirmities by taking of the things of God 
and showing them unto them. And as a man, with 
any regard as to his appearance in public, would not 
be satisfied with, barely light enough falling on his 
mirror to reveal a mere outline of his form and 
features, so those who have any concern for their 
souls will not be content with only an imperfect view 
of them, obtained by an occasional glance at the state 
of their hearts reflected from the word of the Lord. 



God's Woed a Mieeor. 235 

Wisdom dictates a continuous looking into this 
spiritual mirror, and also suggests the importance of 
his asking for all the light that it is possible for him 
to endure ; for ev^ery imperfection of his moral nature 
brought to view by the strongest light but helps him 
to apprehend the infinite adaptation there is in Jesus 
blood, and also the deep significance of those warn- 
ings which urge him to seek an application of its 
cleansing power. 

" A light ! a light ! furnish me with a perfect 
light ! " says the fair one, as she goes to her toilet be- 
fore appearing with the rich and the gay at the even- 
ing party in the princely palace. And shall the 
soul, professedly on its way to mingle with the elite 
of the skies in the grand and glorious reception-room 
of the " King of kings," think of suitably adjusting 
her robes where the light of the Holy Spirit falls 
not ? Foolish thought, and vain as foolish. Were 
you going to appear in the court of France, of En- 
gland, or of Russia, you would, doubtless, have more 
or less solicitude as to your bearing there, as also in 
regard to your dress and its adjustment. How, then, 
are we to explain your indifference and unconcern as 
to what shall be the character of your mien and the 
garments in which you shall appear before the court 
of heaven, the King eternal \ How, but by account- 
ing you a hearer of the word, and not a doer ? 

A hearer of the word ! What a privilege % Go to 



236 Sermons axd Reminiscences. 

him who, for crime, has been banished to a dreary, 
desolate island, or to him who is incarcerated in a 
dungeon, or to him whose eyes are already swimming 
in the waters of death, and, by authority, tell him 
that he is restored to home, society, and life, and you 
will find but an imperfect illustration of the privi- 
lege which the hearer of God's word inherits. Think 
you the criminal would refuse to be led from his 
dreary abode, or the dying refuse to arise ? "Would 
they simply reply, " Your proclamation is all well 
enough ; but, then, I guess I'll not avail myself of 
liberty or of life just now % " Far otherwise. Un- 
converted brothers and sisters, captives of Satan and 
slaves of sin, the Gospel ship heaves to and drops 
anchor at this time near the door of thy prison-house. 
The Commander, Jesus, throws his sweet voice down 
upon you, telling you that he is there — there to 
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of 
prisons to them that are bound. What a privilege ! 
And will you not thus regard it ? May the Holy 
Spirit give you a mind to do so ! for to hear is not 
only a privilege, it is also a fearfully responsible 
thing. Behold that man seated on the engine. He 
is the engineer of the train ; yet, notwithstanding, he 
is busily reading a " dime novel " or a lying political 
newspaper ; the alarm bell rings, but he heeds it not, 
and the train dashes on, and, with its freight of hu- 
man beings, becomes a wreck in the fearful chasm. 



God's Word a Mirror. 237 

"Was not his a responsible position ? Before yon, sin- 
ner, is the bottomless pit, the fearful depths of an 
endless damnation, toward which, with the flight of 
time, you are tending ; others, influenced by you, are 
liable to go in the same direction. God has placed along 
your route many, O how many, signals of danger ! 
Can any who are or who may be influenced by you 
account you innocent if you do not apprise them of 
it ? " A hearer," but only a hearer ; not a communi- 
cator, not a doer — a receiver, but not a drffuser. 

Some people seem to be allied to an ordinary 
sponge. They have a great faculty to take in, but it 
requires a mighty pressure to get any thing out of 
them. Not, as it seems, because they so very highly 
prize that which they receive, but for the reason that 
they have cultivated the faculty of retention instead 
of the faculty of extension. Still, by divine authori- 
ty, we say, " Let him that heareth say, Come." 

In what a brief period would the voice of God, 
now the voice of mercy, reach those of the race 
farthest from the throne if all who hear would also 
do. Within the easy remembrance of nearly all of 
us embattled hosts, arrayed in conflict, were strus-- 
gling for the mastery. The South for King Cotton, 
with slavery for his throne ; the North for free la- 
bor, free homes, a free pulpit, and a free press. At 
length a victory, decisive and final, was given to the 
North, the glad tidings was borne on lightning's tire- 



238 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

less wing to the seat of government, and in less than 
a month the lover of freedom, living in the most 
remote nook of civilization, experienced a thrill of 
wondrous joy. The hosts of heaven and hell are 
contending for the mastery. Every victory gained 
over Satan and his hosts should be promptly com- 
municated. A devout thanksgiving should attest it. 
This would inspire Christians with greater courage, 
and carry dismay into the ranks of the enemy. 

"Doers of the word" are blessed in the deed. 
How the tide of life rolls through their souls ! How 
it refreshes them ! How it cheers and gladdens 
others ! 

To hear and to do constitutes the approved and 
useful character. He it is who does not forget what 
manner of man he was. 

Brethren, let us emulate him, and the mighty ac- 
tivities of Christ, through the wonderful energies of 
the Holy Ghost, shall constantly incite us to do as 
well as to hear, and the coming generations shall ac- 
count us blessed, our dying day shall be our happiest, 
and the decisions of the final judgment shall assign 
us a place among the " workers together with God," 
amid the splendors of the throne of glory. 
With two remarks we close. 

1. How great the number, comparatively, of those 
who only hear. In our largest congregations of hear- 
ers there is always room, and to spare, for the doers. 



God's TVord a Mirror. 239 

2. Sinner, how often has the Gospel glass been so 
held up before you that you could clearly see your- 
self ? But a lack of moral courage has hitherto kept 
you from looking into it long enough to constrain 
you to fly to the peace and life-giving blood of the 
man of Calvary. 

May God help you to see the importance of this, 
and aid you in so looking, as that you shall find life 
in Christ and life in heaven forever ! Amen. 



240 Sermons and Keminiscexces. 



THE COMING REVELATION. 

A FUNERAL DISCOURSE. 

" "What I do thou knowest not now ; but thou shalt know hereafter." 
— John xiii, 'I. 

¥E are surrounded by inexplicable mysteries. 
Some of these spring from the earth, others 
are reflected from the sky, while others, involved in 
deeper mystery, spring from the mind and hand of 
God. 

In some instances the simple act is seen and known 
and measured; but why it was performed, or even 
permitted, we cannot tell. We ask for the motive, 
and search, but search in vain, for the grand design — 
the end proposed to be accomplished. 
. 1. There are mysteries of relationship and obli- 
gation. 

What mysterious beings parents are to their chil- 
dren ; and, in view of this, how difficult it is for 
parents to exercise a wise and healthful discipline 
over them. They do not understand why they 
should obey, nor apprehend the great good which is 
sure to come to them by a prompt and cheerful 
obedience. 

With what propriety might every right-minded 



The Coming Kevelation. 241 

father say to his offspring, " i What I do thou know- 
est not now ; but thou shalt know ' by and by. 
Confide in me. The counsel that I give, the re- 
straints which I impose, the discipline I am giving 
you, and the protection I am seeking to throw 
around your beginning life and molding character 
are all intended for your good. You may not, possi- 
bly cannot, see this to be so now, but you will see it 
* hereafter ; ' and then you will love me all the more 
for this, for in all these my doings you will then see 
my fatherly heart yearning to guide your unwary 
feet away from thorns, your young affections away 
from objects that were either dead or dying, and your 
aspirations and hopes far, far away from creations only 
made to disappoint and sting you." 

Dear friends, thus it is with us. "We see what 
God does, and w T hat he permits -to be done, and we 
say, " Lord, we know not what thou doest ;" and we 
are filled with wonder and stand amazed, while He, 
caring for us infinitely more than an earthly father 
ever did or could, proceeds to do for us as " seemeth 
good to him." Again, 

2; There are mysteries of providence. 

Sometimes the mother, at once the guardian and 
ministering angel of the household, is removed, and a 
darkness deeper than the grave settles down on the be- 
reaved family. Sometimes the father, in the vigor of 

manhood, the strength of his years, is taken, and the 
16 



2-±2 Sermons and Beminiscences. 

widow pours out her complaint in the language of 
one in olden time : " ' Have pity upon me, have pity 
upon me, O ye my friends ; for the hand of God hath 
touched me' — the staff of my support is broken, 
and the light of my home has gone out in darkness." 
Sometimes the youngest child is stricken down, the 
one that was thought of most, if not loved the best. 
Such a one is taken, and the sweet lips from which 
fell so much innocent prattle have ceased to move, 
and are closed by the touch of death. 

In sobs and sighs and tears the question has gone 
forth, Why was this permitted ? Unto other parents 
it has come, but they could not answer it ; unto other 
brothers and sisters it has come, but they are silent, 
and cannot tell. Yet there is One who knows, and 
who will hold the secret until its revelation shall 
more perfectly serve his merciful purposes respecting 
us, and, in view of which, we can right well afford 
to patiently wait. 

More than twenty-five years ago, as I neared my 
home from a distant appointment, I met my eldest 
daughter, with tearful face, who said, "Ma thinks 
Willie is dying." In three minutes I saw our boy, 
our only son. I looked on him, and made inquiries 
for a moment ; then hastened for Dr. Mills. It was 
but a little while ere I had him at our home. He 
entered a moment before me, and, as I was going in, 
turned and said to me, " Your boy must die ; in truth, 



The Coming Revelation. 243 

is dying." I took our Willie in my arms ; 'twas but 
a moment ; the pulse had ceased, the heart was at 
rest. O how we did wish to know why it was thus ! 
But we did not, and do not yet ; still, as certain as 
we did not, and do not, so certain is it that we yet 
shall ; and this to us is a most comforting thought, 
that, with the flight of time, we are hastening toward 
that deeply interesting revelation. 

I lost my mother in childhood, a sister and a father 
in later years, but never knew how deep the iron of 
affliction could pierce the soul until it came in the 
death of children. 

Where I have found soothing and comforting 
thought, I trust you may also. And, 

1. It is well with your child. 

Having passed away in the innocency of her 
being, she shall be folded in the arms of the 
" Good Shepherd," from whom she shall never stray 
into the paths of sin, as you and I have done. 
" From henceforth " her associations are to be among 
the lovely and the pure. Her walks will be the 
streets of gold, and her playmates those of purest 
thought, of kindest word, of love-beaming eyes, and 
of the sweetest voice and song, even " the minstrelsy 
of bliss." Remember, also, 

2. She has been taken away from the evil to 
come. 

Had her stay on earth been as long as yours has, 



24A: Sekmons and Reminiscences. 

already the anguish of parting with father and mother 
and other dear friends must have been hers ; but 
from this, all this, she is now delivered. 

While in this world parents and children cannot 
always be together, hence, had your child lived much 
longer here, you would have occasionally left her, it 
may be, hours and days together. On such occasions 
I do not know with what anxiety she would have 
waited your return ; nor do I know how great would 
have been her joy when that event occurred ; nor do 
I know how pleased and thankful you would forever 
be to find her at home and well. Allow me to say, 
that lovely child of yours is now at home. I cannot 
tell yon how much she is delighted with it, nor with 
how many of the inmates she has become acquainted ; 
nor can I tell you with what solicitude she will await 
your arrival there. It is not for us just now to 
know ; but sure I am that she will be there to meet 
and greet you as you come. I trust you will believe 
and live so here that you will meet her there. If so, 
then a you shall know" what Jesus did when your 
child was taken from you, and why he took her to 
himself. There she shall never know for herself 
such sorrow as is now your own. 

Think of her as forever safe from pain of body 
and from stain of soul. Think — and may God bless 
the thought to your present and future comfort ! — that 
every pain you feel, and every tear you shed, and 



The Coming Revelation. 245 

every sigli your bosoms lieave, were almost certain to 
have entered into the experience of that dear child 
had she lived here as long as you are living. From 
all this she is forever free. 

Ay, it is hard, I know, to have torn from you so 
sweet a flower, and all so suddenly, but the very 
memory of its beauty and loveliness should act as a 
magnet to draw you nearer God, and to that bright 
world where crowns are worn and thrones are given. 
And yet another thought : 

3. Mortals are the subjects of temptations as long 
as they are here. 

The most aged and perfect Christians are still 
tempted. All who have hope in Christ to-day are 
tempted, and expect to be ; but from all these all 
the good who have died are now delivered. From 
all these your child is now forever saved. 

With the knowledge you have of temptation, and 
of the vigilance and grace necessary to overcome it, 
could you wish her back to earth? I know that 
nature feels and sighs and yearns over the taking 
away of loved ones, and asks, but asks in vain, while 
here, for the reason; but the annunciation of Jesus 
bids us hope for an answer as we read, " What I do 
thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know here- 
after." 

I have read of a bright little boy, who started with 
his father on a fishing excursion on a large body of 



246 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

water. Passing a beautiful island, the lad wished to 
he left there until his father's return. Ilis desire 
was granted ; but during his stay a dense fog settled 
upon the waters, and thus the island was hidden 
from the sight of the father. "When he wished to 
return he sought in various directions, but in vain, 
for the island and his boy. At length the little fel- 
low heard the dip of his father's oars, and, appre- 
hending his anxiety, cried out, " This way, father ; 
row this way." And, guided by his voice, the gen- 
tleman soon found the island and his son. 

Dear friends, your child is not stopping 'on an 
island, amid a wide waste of waters, but on the high- 
lands of heaven, the mount of God. 

May the ever-present but invisible Spirit help 
you to hear a persuasive voice saying unto you, 
" This way, pa and ma ; row this way ;" and may 
grace be given you from this hour in the day of 
time to pull strong and to pull steady for 

" The ever-green mountains of life." 

Your child is there. There, through the redemp- 
tion which is by Christ Jesus. There, to live and 
sing and shine forever. 

" The tender, lovely, transient guest has gone, 
To hide her safe from sin and pain and sorrow, 
To hide her, with her God, 
To wait your upward flight, 
Your entrance into heaven ; 



The Coming Revelation. 247 

Nor need she wait in vain, 

For by faith and hope and patience, 

You, too, may gain the sunny side 

Of death's dark river, 

And look on her again 

Beyond the floods. 



11 Himself hath done it " * all 1 0, how those words 
Should hush to silence every murmuring thought. 

"Himself hath done it" — he who loves me best — 
He who my soul with his own blood hath bought 

«' Himself hath done it." Yes, although severe 
May seem the stroke, and bitter the cup, 

'Tis his own hand that holds it; and I know 
He'll give me grace to drink it meekly up. 

"Himself hath done it." 0, no arm but his 
Could e'er sustain beneath earth's dreary lot; 

But while I know he doeth all things well, 
My heart his loving-kindness questions not. 

" Himself hath done it." He who searched me through 
Sees how I cling to earth's ensnaring ties, 

And so he breaks each reed on which my soul 
Too much for happiness and joy relies. 

" Himself hath done it." Then I fain would say — 
Thy will in all things evermore be done; 

E'en though that will remove whom best I love, 
"While Jesus lives I cannot be alone. 

" Himself hath done it." Precious, precious words ! 

Himself— my Father, Saviour, Brother, Friend! 
Whose faithfulness no variation knows — 

Who, having loved me, loves me to the end! 

And when, in his eternal presence blest, 

I at his feet my crown immortal cast, 
" I'll gladly own, with all his ransomed saints, 

" Himself hath done it" all from first to last! 
*See Isaiah xxxviii, 15. 



248 Sekmons astd Reminiscences. 



A CHILDREN'S DAY ADDRESS. 

YOUNG FRIEKDS, SISTEKS, AND BROTH- 
ERS : Our Father in heaven has given us the 
volume of nature, as well as the one we call the 
Bible, from which to learn of him ; therefore, in the 
things which he has made, may be found very many 
interesting lessons. " The heavens declare the glory 
of God ; and the firmament showeth his handiwork." 
He made the glorious sun and silvery moon and 
beautiful stars. It was his hand that built the hills 
and grand old mountains, that scooped out the deep 
oceans, seas, and lakes, and made the ways for the 
rivulets, brooks, and rivers to run in. Ay, it was 
his hand which made every thing in nature on which 
our feet do tread, our hands do handle, or our eyes 
do see. All the men now living, should their 
strength and skill be united, could not make a living 
tree, a fragrant, blushing rose, nor a single little 
fountain of sweet, delicious water. And here, right 
here, I've found my text. It is in the book of nat- 
ure, the first book that was ever made, and made by 
our Father, God himself. I do not mean to tell you 
what my text is, for I think you are so good at guess- 
ing that I need not. 



A Children's Day Address. 249 

" Thou art a pretty fountain," said a man, as lie 
arose from drinking of a spring, and passed on, no 
more to think of it until his thirst returned ; but it 
was not thus with another man who had drank at the 
same fountain. Standing and gazing into it for a 
while he exclaimed, " Thou art a sublime object ! " 
Now, it may be, you are all anxious to know why 
this difference in those two men ! I will try to tell 
you. The first was very thirsty, and, having drank 
of the cooling spring, and being refreshed, carried 
his thoughts no farther. The fountain had served 
his purpose at that time, and, as he then needed no 
more of it, he cared no more about it ; the other, after 
drinking of it, looked upon it as the source of a 
mighty river, and, following it in thought, he saw it 
flowing through the great forests of India, receiving 
many other streams as it flowed toward the ocean, 
thus constantly increasing its volume, deepening its 
bed, widening its banks, and carrying on its yielding 
bosom vast ships, laden with the commerce of na- 
tions, and constituting an arm of the sea. Who 
could estimate the value of such a river, flowing 
from such a fountain ? Its usefulness began with 
the first thirst quenched at its visible source, and it 
will only end with the burning up of the world. 
This inclines me to think that I am standing before 
more than mere little fountains here to-day, and, for 
the sake of being better understood, I will call them 



250 Sermoxs and Reminiscexces. 

girl-fountains and boy-fountains ; and I will also say, 
every little girl and boy is either a good fountain or 
a bad fountain. St. James asks, " Doth a fountain 
send forth at the same place sweet water and bit- 
ter ? " I think he meant good when he wrote sweet, 
and bad when he wrote bitter. If you think so, too, 
hold up your right hands. Well, I have called you 
fountains, and have said you were either good or bad 
ones. Which had you rather be ? If good ones, 
hold up your right hands. You are fountains, then, 
and would rather be good ones than bad ones. So 
far, very well ; but I did not mean, nor did you, that 
you were fountains of water ; no, not at all. "What 
fountains are you, then % I guess you are thinking 
fountains, for the fact that you are here proves that 
you have thought of this place and of this hour, and, 
although I do not know what all your thoughts have 
been, I guess they have been interesting to you, be- 
cause you look interesting, and our thoughts have a 
great deal to do with our looks. 

Young fountains of thought — did you ever think of 
that ? Well, whether you have or not, it is as true 
as truth. For instance, take a person who has learned 
to love to think of God, of good men, and of good 
things, and who has learned to think that every 
cloud has a bright silver lining, and has acquired an 
ability to see it, and also to see the hand of God 
holding the stars in the heavens, and the pearly dew- 



A Children's Day Address. 251 

drops falling from his fingers, and you will always 
find him with a smile on his face and words of good 
cheer coming from his lips. The truth is, such a 
man lives in the sunshine, not because there are no 
clouds and shadows, but because his thoughts cany 
him beyond to the other side. It does one good just 
to look at such a man. His countenance seems to 
have been bathed in brightness, loveliness, and 
beauty. 

Kow, let us take another. One who will not think 
of God, only as he uses his name profanely ; who was 
never kind or obliging in all his life out of respect to 
God, but from purely selfish motives ; who acts just as 
if he thought the world and every thing in it was made 
for him ; who wants the sun to shine when it will 
not, and the rain to cease when it keeps on pouring, 
and his neighbors to think well of him when he does 
not deserve it, and who envies and hates every body 
that is more rich or happy or better looking than 
himself. Dear me, what a countenance he has ! Al- 
most any one would say at first sight, " He has lived 
on sour grapes and pickles, and has been fighting 
thunder and lightning all his days. His anger-flash- 
ing eye glares mimic lightning, and his impetuous, 
wrathy voice utters mimic thunder. A common- 
sense child runs from him at once, as from an en- 
emy. He looks bad, because his thoughts are bitter. 
The features of his soul are drawn with horrible 



252 Sermoxs axd Reminiscences. 

exactness on his face, with only this exception, mind 
takes a deeper, more permanent, and more alarming 
impression than matter. 

Would any of these little thinking fountains here 
to-day like to become such great bitter fountains? 
If you would not, please hold up your left hands. 
Now, though I am sorry to say it, I am afraid you 
will, for it costs considerable to be a good, sweet 
fountain. 

The farmers could raise, you know, large crops of 
weeds without any plowing or hoeing, but if they 
would raise great crops of corn or potatoes, they 
must plow and hoe a good deal. Thus it is with 
your minds, they will keep thinking and sending 
forth many bad thoughts without much training ; but 
if you would have them send forth good thoughts, 
and many of them, your minds, your hearts, must be 
cultivated, and this is the reason why Sunday-schools 
have been instituted, and why your parents and 
friends are willing to give of their money to buy 
Sunday-school papers for you to read, and books to 
study ; and this is, or at least should be, the reason 
why your teachers are willing to spend their time with 
you, and why they and the superintendent seek to 
instruct you. You see, I trust in all this, that they 
are laboring to give direction to your thoughts, so 
that they will run out toward the great sea of infinite 
love, from which flows the stream of redemption, 



A Children's Day Addeess 253 

fringed on either side with flowers of promise — ex- 
otics from heaven. 

May God help you each to learn to pluck those 
flowers with thankful hands, and, in thought, explore 
that sea ; not that you may ever hope to be able to 
bound it, or to fathom it, but that you may find em- 
ployment suited to your spiritual natures, and thus 
grow larger of soul than you possibly could in any 
other pursuit. 

Children and youth, you are more than thinking 
fountains ; you are fountains of feeling, also. I will 
take the liberty to call you feeling fountains ; and O, 
what fountains are these ? Laughing, playful, joyous 
fountains; angry, brawling, raging fountains; ever- 
varying, changing fountains. Sometimes there is 
not a ripple on their surface, and all is quiet, all is 
at rest. By and by the winds of opposition, disap- 
pointment, and detraction begin to blow, and these 
fountains of feeling are stirred to the very bottom. 
They dash and rave and foam and roar, O how fu- 
riously ! They break their bounds, and are seen knit- 
ting the brow, firing the eye, and sending forth the 
fist of wickedness in mischief-dealing blows. Bad 
fountains are these, and the streams which they send 
forth do more harm than all those of melted, burning 
lava which have ever flowed ; but, blessed be God ! 
good fountains have a place in this world, as well as 
bad ones. I am glad of that ; are not you, little girls 



254 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

and boys ? I have seen some of them, and they were 
beautiful to behold. All around these fountains are 
signs hung out. which guide you right to the fount- 
ains themselves. I will give you the names of some 
of these signs : Obedience to parents, Respect for 
superiors, Love for the Bible, Love for the Sunday- 
school, Songs of praise to Jesus, Desire to be good, 
Desire to be useful, and Thankfulness for all favors. 
AYherever you see the first of these you may gener- 
ally, by looking, find one and another of the others 
mentioned, until you find the last, and there, right 
there, you will find a great and good fountain, and 
be made to know and to feel that it is good ; for right 
there your own heart will be made a fountain of de- 
lightful emotions, of rapturous joy — a fountain of 
music, in which the passions will sing in harmony, 
making melody in the ears of God, melody for your- 
selves, and melody for the angels. 

My dear young friends, I am glad of an opportuni- 
ty of telling you that, though you live in a world of 
howling winds and pelting storms, of hungry floods 
and devouring fires, that there are also here gentle 
zephyrs, balmy breezes, singing birds and rosy bow- 
ers, pearly dew-drops and glorious sunshine, and that 
you may be happy here in spite of the war of the 
elements and the wrath of the sky ; and I am glad 
to be here to tell you that your hearts may be taught, 
even in this very wicked, and, therefore, very un- 



A Children's Day Address. 255 

happy, world, to beat time to the melody of angels, 
and be made fountains of such feelings and affections 
as angels never knew, nor shall ever know. I am 
also here to tell you that it is your business to be 
happy. He who is not happy, even in this world, 
must have made a great blunder, a sad and bad mis- 
take ; but, if this be so, I think it may be corrected, 
or greatly remedied, and that God really intends it 
shall be ; or, if not, that the blame shall not attach 
to him. Just think what a sun he has made and 
placed in the heavens. Its rays travel twelve mill- 
ion miles in a minute " to bless our waking eyes." 
What a moon, also, to give us light by night ! And 
what boundless fields of stars ! What air he gives us 
to breathe, what water to drink, and what a variety 
of food ! I doubt if they have such cows and calves, 
such sheep and lambs, such elk and deer, or geese 
and turkeys, ducks and chickens, or bass and perch 
and trout in any other world as we have in this ; 
and then, how vast the number of objects of loveli- 
ness, grandeur, and beauty ! — all evidently intended 
for the happiness of man. 

Myriads of forms, clothed in more than rainbow 
beauty, sending forth odors grateful to the smell, and 
inspiriting our whole being ; towering mountains, 
with clouds above and below them, and whose peaks 
receive the first kiss of sunshine in the morning, and 
the last one in the evening as he sinks to rest behind 



256 Sekmons and Reminiscences. 

the western waves ; the rainbow, " born in a mo- 
ment," yet spanning the heavens, and " bended by 
the hand of our Father ;" the dashing cascade, rip- 
pling streamlet, the flowing river, and the deep, blue 
sea; but both time and ability are wanting to give 
more than a tithe of the diversified objects of loveli- 
ness which roll in space, spring from the earth, or 
constitute a part of it. They are above us, under- 
neath us, and are thrown in beautiful profusion all 
around us. In the light of these facts, do you not 
see that I was right in saying that it is your business 
to be happy ? 

Dear fountains of feeling, girls and boys, God 
wants you to be happy ; just as happy as you can 
bear to be. So happy, that your hearts will leap and 
bound for joy ; so happy, that you would just as seon 
live here "a thousand years to come," as to go to 
heaven to-morrow ; so happy, that you could lay 
yourselves down to die as calmly as the smiling in- 
fant is laid away to sleep in its soft cradle-bed ; but 
you would all do well to remember the order of 
God: "First pure, then peaceable." That means, 
first good, then happy. Never try to be happy with- 
out first trying to be good. Aim to be good, and 
happiness will certainly come and live in your hearts. 
Be good, and you will have what happiness is made 
of right in your hearts, and you can carry this with 
you into a hut as easily as you could carry it into a 



A Children's Day Address. 257 

palace. Now, are you asking, in those thinking, feel- 
ing fountains, " How are we to become good \ " I 
will tell you : go in thought, in prayerful thought, 
to Jesus, and go often thus. He loves to have you 
come often, and it is still true, 

" None but Jesus, none but Jesus, 
Can do helpless sinners good." 

Do not be afraid or ashamed to go to him. He 
came all the way from heaven to earth to show you 
how he loved yon, and how your feeling hearts 
might know his love. O he would a great deal 
rather you would come to him than stay away ! 
Then go, in thought, to Jesus. Make a thinking 
trip to-day to the fountain he has " opened.- ' Lift 
up your thoughts just now to the " Lamb of God, 
which taketh away the sin of the world." I urge 
you to do so the more because you are not only 
thinking and feeling fountains, but also fountains of 
influence. You cannot live in this world and talk 
and act without having an influence on others. As 
you are affected by the influence of others, so others 
are to be affected by your influence. If your lives 
are pure and good, your influence will be a blessing 
to the world forever ; but if your lives are bad and sin- 
ful, your lives will be a curse to the world forever. 

Sir Robert Raikes, of England, conceived the idea 
of gathering the ragged children of London into 

schools on Sundays for instruction, and, from that 
17 



258 Sermons and Beminiscences. 

one thinking, feeling, influential fountain, a noble, 
glorious stream has flowed, running from east to 
west, until its waters have penetrated every Chris- 
tian land and community, and the numbers it has 
blessed cannot be counted. If Raikes is in glory 
now, and if it be given such to look down on earth, 
and to know the influence that their acts are still 
exerting, how happy he must be as he beholds, every 
Sunday, the millions of children singing hymns of 
praise, and reading and reciting portions of God's 
holy word. 

Rev. John "Wesley first devised a system of itin- 
erancy in the Gospel ministry, but from that one 
fountain of sanctified influence has grown the might- 
iest Protestant Church in all Christendom ; and in 
our own land, the land we love the best, our dear and 
native land, and from a section of it, which, but a 
few years since was a wilderness, there arose a think- 
ing, feeling fountain, so pure and good, that none but 
devils and traitors hated it, and none but the good, 
the oppressed, and the truly loyal loved it. Such 
a fountain arose, and its influence is pulsating and 
throbbing through the continent, and is to-day shak- 
ing the nations. True, an assassin's hand sealed the 
fountain of feeling, but before the horrid deed was 
perpetrated, waves of influence had rolled forth, 
breaking by their might the chains of slavery, and 
undermining the thrones of kings ; and they will roll 



A Children's Day Address. 259 

on and on, for God is behind them, and they cannot 
retreat. The loyal people of these lands, and the 
lovers of civil and religious liberty in all lands, 
shouted for joy at their going forth, and shall never 
be doomed to weep at their return. So, when I 
think of what these fountains of influence have done, 
and are doing, and look into the eyes of little boys, 
I am ready to exclaim, with the second man I men- 
tioned in the beginning of this discourse, " Thou art a 
sublime object ! " For as the little spring grew to be 
a mighty river, so a little boy may grow, if he lives 
a right life, to be a thinking, feeling, influential man. 
Just think, and remember that you live in a land 
where there is no royal road to greatness, but in a 
land where the ignorant may become educated and 
learned, where the lowest may become the highest, 
where a shoe-maker arose to be a Representative, a 
cigar-maker to be a United States Senator, and a tan- 
ner to the Presidency ; a land and a government, 
whose principles have been fought for, bled for, died 
for ; and that you are expected to take the places of 
those who began to live from thirty to fifty years 
before you, and to fill them with honor to your- 
selves, and with fidelity to those who shall come after 
you. It may be that I shall never meet and speak 
to you all again, therefore let me entreat you, each 
and all, to seek to become fountains of good influ- 
ence, never forgetting that — 



2G0 Sermons and Eemlniscences. 

11 Mind lives again in mind , 

We each, on other, set our living seal. 

Each act, each word, whate'er we think, or feel, 

Is in some heart enshrined ; 

'Twas in its birth our own, 

Yet lives without us ; lives when we are gone ; 

Shall live forever, or to bless or curse 

This vast domain of life, this peopled universe. 

" A stone dropped in the lake 

Sends circling wavelets to the farthest shore, 

Each fluttering leaf, each moving wing 

The realms of air do shake. 

Each rain-drop on the waves 

Stirs every drop in ocean's boundless caves ; 

The lightest footfall jars the solid earth, 

So mind reacts on mind, so thought to thought gives birth. 

" And is it, is it so ? 

From all my heart indulges, 

Shall I see issues momentous as eternity 

Forever flow ? Be watchful, then, my soul ! 

Thy deeds, thy thoughts, thy wishes so control, 

That each done, thought, or wished, 

By millions more, shall prove a type 

That thou nor they will e'er deplore." 

May the blessed Christ and Saviour draw you all 
to him, that, as fountains of thought and feeling 
and influence, you may evermore send forth those 
streams which shall adorn, beautify, and gladden hu- 
man society, and thus help to hasten the day when 
"all shall know the Lord, from the least unto the 
greatest ! " 

Blessings, everlasting blessings, be upon you, "both 
young men and maidens, old men and children 1 " 



REMINISCENCES. 



SERMON WRITING OR MAKING, AND SERMON READING. 

MUCH has been said, written, and published on 
these subjects ; and as I have been listening and 
reading and thinking about them for a number of 
years, I have concluded, in this paper, to give my 
views of them. 

As to writing sermons, I think there has not been, 
and there is not likely to be, any serious or formida- 
ble objection presented. I believe that it is generally 
conceded that writing contributes to the elegance and 
perfection of public discourse, and that very few men 
have ever succeeded in becoming impressive public 
speakers without previously writing or in some way 
thoroughly elaborating their subjects. Sermon mak- 
ing is too sacred and responsible a thing to be done in 
a careless manner. The great number of volumes of 
sermons, both of a remote and of a recent date, 
prove that many sermons have been written ; and 
the fact that Mr. Wesley and Watson and Benson, 
not to mention many of the Methodist ministers in 
our day, have given to the Church and the world 



2G2 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

their written sermons, proves that to simply write 
sermons is not anti-Methodistical, nay, that it is 
Methodistically legitimate to do so. 

A few men who have been favored with long and 
thorough mental discipline are capable, without pen- 
cil or pen and paper, of evolving a subject, either at 
home or abroad, or when traveling by private or pub- 
lic conveyance, and of getting it all so fixed in the 
mind as to be able to repeat it when before a large 
and promiscuous audience. But the many in the 
ministry have never been thus favored, and could not, 
if they would, thus prepare to appear before their 
congregations. Some, with the greatest care, write 
their sermons in full, and then commit them to mem- 
ory, and thus deliver them from memory. A few of 
this class have become eminent speakers, and have 
been mentioned as models of extemporaneous preach- 
ers by those who could not bear to have a minister 
write his sermons. (?) All sermons, good, bad, and 
indifferent, are prepared, and it is equally true that 
the preparations have been worthy of a similar classi- 
fication. No rule can be made which shall be of 
universal application in the preparation of sermons ; 
we strongly incline to the opinion, however, that the 
better class are made with pen or pencil in hand. 

Without further remarks on sermon writing or 
making, we will now consider sermon reading. This 
has not generally been practiced by the Methodist 



Seemon Writing or Making. 2G3 

ministry, and some do really think and believe that it 
has been a more efficient ministry than it would have 
been had the reading practice generally obtained. 
That, however, must have depended very much on 
the spirit and manner in which the reading was 
done. 

God has given us his written word, and we esteem 
it a great privilege to read it, and to hear it read ; 
but how very different it sounds to us and affects us 
when well read than when poorly lead. Our heavenly 
Father could have given us his word by inspiration 
just as we needed it, without subjecting us to the 
necessity of learning to read ; but he did not see fit to 
do so. Is it less his word, and is it less effectual, be- 
cause we receive it in a written form, and not by a 
direct inspiration ? 

Think how infinitely more easy he could thus com- 
municate to us his will at every period in our history 
than any man could deliver a good extemporaneous 
sermon. 

I think that the prejudice against reading sermons 
is the result of a careless and bad manner of reading 
them. So good a thing as a good sermon ought to 
be read well. And if it be not a good one, no ex- 
temporaneous delivery of it will supply that quality. 

"We are told that the visible manifestations of the 
great revival under Edwards were first made during 
the delivery of a sermon read by him in a moderate 



264 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

tone of voice ; but so great was the measure of awak- 
ening power attending it, that every one in a large 
audience shrieked in anguish, and wept in their wail- 
ings. 

In preaching the Gospel, it is not the expression of 
the eye nor the gesticulation of the head or of the 
hands which renders the meaning effectual ; but it is 
the adaptation of the truth to the condition and wants 
of the hearers, and the presence and blessing of the 
Holy Spirit. Now, as it is by the aid of the Spirit 
that all real Gospel sermons are prepared, whether in 
the mind, or also on paper, it is but reasonable to 
conclude that he is as willing to assist and attend the 
reading of a sermon as he can be in its extemporane- 
ous delivery. 

It may not be in good taste in this connection to 
speak of one's self, yet allow me to remark that, dur- 
ing all my efforts at making sermons for eighteen 
years of my ministry, I was never so graciously as- 
sisted as I have invariably been for the last nine 
years, in which all my sermons have been written. 
Their preparation has been a precious means of grace 
to me ; and, although they have all been delivered 
at the first writing, yet most of them have passed 
through a number of editions, each of which, I be- 
lieve, has helped to make me a better man and a bet- 
ter minister. 

To be alone with God and his own thoughts from 



Sekmon Writing ok Making. 265 

one to three days every week, placing before him a 
congregation whose thoughts and feelings and charac- 
ters and destinies are to be affected favorably or other- 
wise by two discourses from him every Sabbath, should 
be sufficient to enlist a minister's best endeavors, and 
the sympathies and prayers of the Church, that " the 
trumpet " should give no " uncertain sound," but be 
intelligible — announcing revelations of wrath to the 
ungodly, and a joyful jubilee to the contrite and 
penitent. I can scarcely conceive of a minister thus 
preparing his sermons, and then taking them into the 
pulpit and reading them in a sleepy, prosy manner. 
Sermons thus prepared, whether delivered from 
memory or from manuscript, will be on fire of the 
Holy Ghost ; and the truths they convey, like " the 
arrows of Acestes," will take fire in their flight and 
enter the hearts of men to melt them into tenderness 
before the Lord. 

We had written thus far when we received the 
"Methodist Quarterly Eeview " for October, 1869, 
and, opening its pages, read Dr. Whedon's notice of 
the ""Works of Rev. Leonidas L. Hamline, D.D., 
edited by Rev. F. G. Hibbard, D.D. Sermons. 
12mo, pp. 432." In his notice, the good and astute 
doctor says : " They [the sermons] were written not 
for the press, but to be preached. As in prepar- 
ing an argument for the bar, he had aimed at suc- 
cess with the jury, so, in preparing these sermons, he 



266 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

wrote as in the presence of living men, every one of 
whom he must win to Christ. He aimed at imme- 
diate effect, and, to an almost marvelous degree, at- 
tained it." 

Those powerful sermons, then, which some of us 
have heard as they fell from the lips of the living 
Hamline, were written sermons— written, memorized, 
and spoken; written, preserved, and now printed, 
so that they may be read and made a blessing to all 
who shall ever read them. Even so let it be; and 
may every one whose duty it is to preach " the glo- 
rious Gospel of the blessed God," who can better 
prepare his sermons in writing than otherwise, and 
better deliver them from manuscript than he possi- 
bly can in any other way, be sure to do so, always 
remembering that God requires him to do his best, 
and can never consistently bless any thing less than 
a high and holy endeavor. 



BE NOT DECEIVED. 

Emphatically to Christians is this gracious warning 
given, and never was their greater need of it than at 
the present time. I doubt if in any period of the 
history of the Church there have been a greater 
number beguiled from the simplicity of the Gospel 
than in the last few years. An inordinate love of 
gain has been permitted to enter the heart, and to 



Be Not Deceived. 267 

usurp the throne of God in the affections of his peo- 
ple, until the j have become so deceived as to " sup- 
pose that gain is godliness ;" and under this decep- 
tion multitudes have given their influence and their 
votes to perpetrate money-making evils. Who that 
has any correct knowledge of the numerical strength 
of the different branches of the Church, in this coun- 
try, can doubt that the humane and holy cause of 
temperance would have been carried forward to a 
grand and glorious success had even a respectable 
majority of Christians, in a perfectly legitimate way, 
given their influence and their votes to have se- 
cured it % 

"Who doubts that, had the whole ministry and the 
whole Church in America firmly, yet legitimately, 
set themselves against the active cause of the recent 
Satanic rebellion, slavery would have been removed 
without a resort to arms, and an appeal to " the God 
of battles?" With whoim. then, belongs the settle- 
ment for the yet unmeasured amount of treasure, 
suffering, and blood poured out upon the nation's 
altar % With whom but with those, North and South, 
who allowed themselves to be " deceived " in regard 
to the moral obligations that were upon them to op- 
pose " unto the death " every national sin. Nor yet 
is the whole Church saved from deception in this 
matter, for there are still those who are so held by 
party ties, and so " deceived " as to moral obligation, 



2G8 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

that they will not investigate the mental or moral 
qualifications of candidates for office, but proceed to 
support them simply, solely, because they belong to 
our party. And is it possible for individual influ- 
ence and responsibility to be lost and obliterated by 
such a course of action ? Is not God's eye upon the 
actions of the deceived as upon those of the intelli- 
gent and the true \ And will he not hold him re- 
sponsible both for his acts and his influence on the 
w T eal or the woe of the state or the nation in which 
he lives ? He most surely will. 

The sentiment expressed in the sentence, a All is 
right in politics," is infidel in its conception and tend- 
ency. It is both a falsehood and a lie ; and the 
sooner all Christians come to regard it as such the 
better it will be for the Church and the imperiled 
interests of humanity. 



WHY HOPE MAKETH NOT ASHAMED. 

The love of God shed abroad in the heart is the king 
of forces in that dominion. All else is subject to it. 
It regulates our desires and thoughts, elevates and 
ennobles our affections, and contributes most of all 
things toward the formation and completion of the 
Christian character. It warms into life, and nour- 
ishes into maturity, patience and submission, long- 
suffering and gentleness, goodness and brotherly 



Why Hope Maketii Not Ashamed. 2G9 

kindness. It gives strength and beauty and real ex- 
cellence to every grace and virtue. It sheds the tear 
of pity over the unfortunate, stretches forth the hand 
to assist the weak, is ready to instruct the ignorant, 
to encourage the desponding, and to labor in the 
prayer of faith for the elevation of the most de- 
graded and miserable. It is going forth, through 
the efforts of its subjects, to destroy the fountains of 
human want and woe, and to proclaim to the coming 
generations of the race an eternal emancipation from 
sin and hell. It is on its way toward bloodless vic- 
tories and fadeless crowns, winning its triumphs by 
the presence and might of the invisible Spirit, by 
which it is shed abroad in the hearts of the mar- 
shaled hosts of " the King Immortal." 

It is when the Church is most baptized with this 

" Love divine ! all love excelling," 

that she is the most active, useful, and aggressive. 
It is then that her tread shakes the earth, and her 
breath blesses the nations. It is in her large posses- 
sion of this principle that all human kind is inter- 
ested, and upon which depends the dawn of the mil- 
lennial glory. God in Christ is now saving this 
world by those who are filled with his love. His 
Spirit is with them and in them. Their movements 
are not heralded by trumpet-notes nor the roar of 
cannon, but there follow in their path the pleadings 



270 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

of penitents, and the singing and shoutings of the 
redeemed. . . . 

A sickly, feeble, lifeless, aristocratic Church can 
do but little to save the souls of men. The world is 
in terrible motion hellward, and, if overtaken and 
effectually warned of impending ruin, and turned to 
God, the Church must become healthy and strong 
and vigorous. She must take to herself the spirit 
and the form" of a Christianity which is not content 
with riding on the most beautiful steam-boats and 
railway coaches, and of worshiping in costly churches, 
pillowed and cushioned as if for invalids; but that 
which goes on horseback and on foot to meet the 
emigrant from other lands with a free Gospel and a 
full salvation. A type of Christianity which follows 
the miner of coal and of copper into the bowels of 
the earth, and tells him that God thinks of him 
there, and that Jesus is interceding for him before 
the throne of infinite Majesty. A type of Chris- 
tianity which goes and sits down by the side of the 
disappointed and bankrupt silver or gold digger and 
tells him of the golden gates and streets of an eternal 
city, and assures him that their possession and enjoy- 
ment, through Christ, is possible even to him. In 
brief, a type of Christianity which, not neglecting 
the highest, seeks to get nearest the lowest and those 
farthest from salvation, and which speaks to them the 
kindest and most earnest words of love about it. 



Less than the Least of All Saints. 271 

LESS THAN THE LEAST OF ALL SAINTS. 

It seems to me that St. Paul excels all men in the 
utterance of expressions of humility. He not only 
accounted himself "the chief of sinners," and as 
" unworthy to be called an apostle," but felt himself 
to be " less than the least of all saints." 

It is as if an individual would count an indefinite 
number of trees standing in a continuous row. 
Those nearest him could be plainly seen from root 
to topmost bough ; but as he glances along from tree 
to tree each seems to lessen in size, until his eye rests 
on one away in the dim distance, " less than the least " 
of all he had beheld and counted. 

Thus I have thought it might have been with the 
apostle, taking his position so near the beginning of 
the generations of men, that he first saw with ease 
Noah and Job and Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, and Ja- 
cob, and, thrilled by their majestic bearing, and 
charmed by their heavenly spirits, he sends his mind 
along the line of the greater and lesser prophets, 
leaps the hiatus between the old and the new dispen- 
sations, gets a glimpse of John the Baptist, pauses to 
contemplate Jesus, and to adore him ; then, as the 
great objects of Christ's mission begin to take form, 
in the calling of " the twelve," and sending them 
forth, and saying unto them, " As ye go, preach," 
he saw the multitudes moved by the living truths 



272 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

proclaimed, even " publicans and harlots " won to 
Christ and goodness, Churches gathered, and away 
there, on his way to Damascus, a proud Pharisee, 
" exceedingly mad," pressing on in hot haste, to ac- 
complish a devilish purpose — himself ! Himself 
made to listen to the voice of mercy ; himself con- 
quered by grace, and thoroughly won by love ; him- 
self farthest from God, yet " made nigh by the blood 
of Christ." 

The greater sinner a man sees himself to be the 
less he sees himself to be a saint. 



NO PEACE. 

Sinners, . as such, have "no peace." Theirs, at the 
best, is but a state of unrest. A consciousness of 
being in the wrong is of itself a source of wretched- 
ness ; and when that wrong consists in opposition to 
an eternal rule of right, fixed by infinite Wisdom and 
Love for the government of the intelligent subjects 
of His dominion, how can it be otherwise than that 
whosoever is thus wrong shall have " no peace ? " 
Moreover the sources from which sinners seek hap- 
piness proclaim them destitute of "peace." You 
would account him idiotic or insane who should be 
seen walking the streets with a lighted lamp in his 
hand while the sun was shining in his strength ; but 
such an act very faintly illustrates the folly of a soul, 



ISTo Peace. 273 

grander in its wonderful faculties than the material 
universe, trying to get its fill of happiness in the pos- 
session of any number of thousands of dollars, the 
bursting bubble of fame, or the fickle friendship of a 
world sold to Satan, and in league with hell. 

What must be thought of a starving man seeking 
to satisfy the terrible cravings of nature with a few 
blighted apples about the size of a thimble, when 
there were full-grown, mellow, and luscious ones in 
abundance lying within his reach, and of which he is 
at liberty to partake ? Think of such a scene. 
Pause and consider it well. Then think of a soul, 
professing to be hungering for the bread of life, sol- 
emnly declaring that it " renounces the devil and all 
his works ;" that it " will obediently keep God's holy 
word ;" that it will " labor to promote the peace, the 
harmony, and the prosperity of the Church ;" then 
think of such leaving " the house of God " for the 
dance-room, " the table of the Lord" for " the euchre 
deck," the reading of God's word for the very " froth 
of fiction," and you have a scene of wicked ridicu- 
lousness that is nearly without a parallel this side 
perdition. Ay, it is not only among those who have 
never professed faith in Christ that there is "no 
peace," but also among the many " who know their 

duty and who do it not." 
18 



274 Sermons and Beminiscences. 



FAREWELL REMARKS OF A PASTOR. 

Brethren and Friends : During the two years that 
we have been with you we have received twenty- 
three persons to the Church by letter, and eighteen 
on probation. Twelve of these have graduated to 
full membership, while six remain on trial. Two of 
your number have departed " to be with Christ," and 
three have removed with letters. Your net gain is — 
of members, thirty, and of probationers, six. We 
have attended twenty-one funerals and eleven wed- 
dings. For attending four of the funerals there was 
given us the sum of fourteen dollars, for the remain- 
ing seventeen, nothing. For attending the weddings 
we received the sum of forty-five dollars, an average 
of a fraction over four dollars. Of this sum one 
fourth, or eleven dollars twenty-five cents, is conse- 
crated to the benevolent enterprises of the Church. 
"We have baptized twelve persons, two by immersion, 
and ten by sprinkling. 

Allow me here to express the sincere thanks of 
myself and wife to those who have so steadily and 
faithfully been with us in the prayer and class meet- 
ings. In these hallowed associations the most sanc- 
tified friendships are formed, and hence we shall ex- 
pect to be remembered in the prayers of those who 
most regularly attended these precious means of 



Farewell Remarks of a Pastoe. 275 

grace, when we shall be utterly forgotten by those 
who " know their duty, but who do it not." 

As a Church, we have been enabled to see your 
capabilities, and to measure, in some good degree, your 
responsibilities. If a family, as such, would be re- 
spected and prosperous, they must keep family inter- 
ests to themselves, fully agree among themselves, and 
each member faithfully perform his or her duty. In 
this way only can the Church family be respected 
and prosperous. 

Finally, let me caution all who profess the religion 
of Jesus against littleness and stinginess in their deal- 
ings with men of the world. Many, who are other- 
wise good and worthy members of Churches, ruin 
their religious influence by allowing wicked men to 
get the impression that they would much rather pray 
for sinners than to feed the hungry. God help you, 
brethren, to do both ! 

We have not failed to hear of un-Christian utter- 
ances since we have been with you ; but we have daily 
prayed for those who spoke them, and have treated 
them as kindly as if they had not said them. The 
religion we preach teaches us to do so, and the grace 
of God helps us to practice what we preach. " Breth- 
ren, farewell." 



276 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

JOB'S KNOWLEDGE OF HIS REDEEMER. 

How did Job obtain this knowledge ? We answer, 
God himself must have imparted it. Among all the 
efforts of men to account for their possession of the 
idea of God in any other way, none have ever been 
successful, and the fact of this unsuccess furnishes 
strong presumptive evidence that this central and 
granite idea in the Christian system came at first 
from him. 

God speaks to man, and says, "I am." To some 
of the race this cardinal truth has come through 
various mediums, to others only in the " whispers " 
of the Spirit. The idea, however, by means of God's 
ordaining, has been deposited with every rational 
soul. Hence, among those tribes and nations far- 
thest Temoved as yet from Gospel light and privi- 
lege, the persuasion of the existence of a great First 
Cause, all-powerful and wise, obtains. 

Job and all Christians knew, and do know, just as 
all other men have known, and do now know, that 
the " Redeemer liveth." Yet the good have this 
knowledge in greater fullness and perfection. To 
them it is a living verity — a sublime reality. Let us 
illustrate. Two men are standing, side by side, sur- 
veying the vast expanse of the wide Atlantic. In 
the dim distance an object is seen by both ; but it 
is so very remote that even its outlines cannot be 



Job's Knowledge of his Redeemer. 277 

traced. Each equally knows that it is something. 
Just what it is neither can tell. One says, " I am 
satisfied with the simple fact — it is something ;" but 
the other says, " I cannot be, nor will I, until I know 
more perfectly." Science has given him the tele- 
scope ; so, adjusting it to his eye, he looks in the 
direction of the object, when lo, the wreck of a ship, 
with men and women clinging to the fragments, rises 
up from the ocean and fills his mind with a scene of 
peril. He hastens to communicate the fact, and help, 
impelled by steam, flies to the rescue. So with men 
of the world, and so with Christian men. The one 
sees and hears and knows that the " Redeemer liv- 
eth," but sees and hears and knows imperfectly ; the 
other apprehends Him, taking into his very soul his 
perfections and attributes, traces his wonderful acts, 
and cheerfully does his will ; sees and knows him 
to be more than Creator and Preserver. He sees 
and knows him as his Redeemer, beholds him 
" treading the wine-press," and " coming with dyed 
garments from Bozrah." He hears the strokes of 
the hammer that drives the nails which fasten him 
to the rugged cross, and, strange contrast, the music 
of his soul, set to the words, " It is finished." He 
hears the tread, solemn and slow, of those who bear 
his precious body to the sepulcher, and witness the 
rolling away of the stone from its door, and the res- 
urrection of his Lord ; lingers with solicitude and 



278 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

surprise on the mount of transfiguration, and catches 
the song and the chorus of the upper choir as the 
" eternal gates " are " lighted up " for his re-entrance 
into the glories of the realms of bliss. He hears the 
pleadings of his intercession before the throne, and 
feels celestial fires thrown by his gentle hands on his 
grateful and believing heart. He knows him as his 
Redeemer by the influence of his Spirit, begetting 
within him a love for every thing which he loves, 
and a disposition to do, in his measure, just what 
his Redeemer requires. 



AS FAR AS JAMESTOWN. 

I have been informed that the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in Jamestown is considered a very desirable 
appointment in the Erie Conference. Some of the 
best talent in that large and influential body has for 
years filled and graced the pulpit. I remember that, 
in one instance, a distinguished and truly eloquent 
member of the Wyoming Conference had an invita- 
tion to become its pastor, and, accepting it, readily 
passed from that to one of the New York city 
churches. Among the number of great and worthy 
men who have served that church I have heard of 
one who, during his pastorate, became very much in 
love with his people, and really thought them to be 
all, or nearly all, that a pastor could desire his flock 



As Far as Jamestown. 279 

to be. But the time came when he could constitu- 
tionally remain no longer with them. Of course, the 
separation was painful to both parties ; but whether 
they sung on that occasion, 

" When we asunder part 

It gives us inward pain ; 
But we shall still be joined in heart, 

And hope to meet again," 

I do not know, but this, I have been told, did occur : 
The good pastor carried to his next pastorate so much 
love, and such a lively remembrance of his James- 
town people, that in the social meetings he would 
always make some reference to them. This, at first, 
was only thought of as an affectionate remembrance 
of sanctified friendship there formed, and hallowed 
associations in which he had there mingled ; but 
after a time references to Jamestown became annoy- 
ing, especially when he would say, " They did not do 
so in Jamestown ;" or, " That is not as it was in 
Jamestown ;" or, " That is something as it used to be 
in Jamestown." 

Finally, an impromptu council was held, and the 
inquiry was made, "What can be done to put an end 
to this annoyance ? After various expedients had 
been proposed, considered, and rejected, an old lady 
said, "Please leave the matter to me, and I think 
that at the next social meeting I can accomplish 
what we all so much desire." This was accepted, 



2S0 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

and the time of the next meeting was thought of 
with unusual interest. 

At length it came, and a goodly number were pres- 
ent. During the meeting the pastor, as on former 
occasions, made some reference to Jamestown. The 
old lady arose, and, after relating some of her expe- 
rience in the Christian life, remarked that, after all, 
she sometimes had doubts and fears as to her finally 
reaching heaven, but trusted, if that was denied her, 
" the Lord would at least take her as far as James- 
town." The remedy was effectual. 



A CONFERENCE REMINISCENCE. 

An evening was given to the anniversary exercises of 
the " East Genesee Conference Sunday-School Socie- 
ty." It was arranged to have three addresses ; so, 
after the usual opening services of singing and 
prayer, and the report of the secretary had been 
read, the first speaker was announced, who, in a 
short and stirring speech, interested the large audi- 
ence, and then gave place to the second. This broth- 
er had prepared an able but lengthy address, and 
proceeded to deliver it from manuscript. 

Rev. Dr. Newman, who was present, had been re- 
quested to give the closing address, but, when called 
on, simply arose, and, alluding to the lateness of the 
hour, asked to be excused from speaking. 



A Conference Reminiscence. 281 

The cry, however, went forth, " Newman, New- 
man." He arose, and said in snbstance, " I am re- 
minded to-night of what once transpired in a Quar- 
terly Conference, A pious old lady from one of the 
new settlements heard that a presiding elder would 
be in one of the older settlements at a given time, 
and having a great desire to secure preaching where 
she lived, made her way to him. Without delay she 
told him of their wants, and inquired if he could not 
send them < a circus preacher.' He replied, ' All the 
circuit preachers have all that they can do, and could 
not increase the number of their appointments. ' "Well, 
then,' said the old lady, ' haven't you a locus preach- 
er that you could send in to preach to us ? ' The 
elder said, ' I know of none that I could get." 
' Well, then,' said the earnest woman, ' send us an 
exhauster ; ' and," added the doctor, " we've had the 
exhauster." Of course all, even the victim, heartily 
laughed, and were well pleased with his speech. 



STOOL-PIGEONS-EXTRAORDINARY. 

A number of events have transpired latterly which 
have awakened in my mind the recollection of the 
capture of wild pigeons in my boyhood days. Two 
brothers, neighbors of my father, used to take a great 
many of them almost every spring. They knit their 
own nets, prepared " the beds " on which to* spring 



282 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

them, and the " bough houses " in which to secrete 
themselves, and from which, by small ropes, they 
worked the treadle to which was fastened the decoy- 
bird, and also sprang the net which captured the un- 
suspecting ones. The bird on the treadle was called 
the " stool-pigeon ;" and, as by his flutterings the at- 
tention of the passing flocks was secured, and their 
flight turned to the bed, he was an important factor 
in the success of this primitive enterprise. 

Now, though I have not known of a single instance 
of thus capturing pigeons in the last twenty-five years, 
yet within that time the principle has been pretty 
thoroughly worked and applied to other purposes. 

The " Silver Lake Sea-serpent," made of India- 
rubber, the " Cardiff Giant," and the more recent 
" Pre-historic Man," are examples quite to the point. 
By them were the hundreds and the thousands 
(which the " Fool-killer " had spared) " netted," or 
humbugged, and then let loose, to be captured again. 
In neither of these cases was the thing used to attract 
and gather the crowd at all responsible. I am sorry 
to say that, in other instances, this cannot in truth be 
said. 

1. "When ministers of the Gospel allow themselves 
to accompany Sunday excursions to places of popular 
resort, and make engagements to speak on such oc- 
casions ; when, to do so, they but consent to act the 
part of "stool-pigeons," and to lend their presence 



Stool-pigeons — Extraordinary. 283 

and influence to give some character and respectabili- 
ty to absolute Sabbath desecration. 

2. When ministers accept invitations from the pro- 
prietors of great hotels to preach in their parlors Sab- 
bath afternoons, that many young men and women 
may be drawn into their " nets," and that a greater 
number of " drinks and cigars " may be sold than in 
any other afternoon during the week. Such unique 
and blameworthy " stool-pigeon " ministers are scarce 
as yet, and we trust their number may grow " beau- 
tifully less" in a hurry until none shall be found, 
even unwittingly, to thus abet Sabbath-breaking. 



PLEASANTRIES AND WIT. 

During the principalship of Professor Colt (Presby- 
terian) at Wyalusing, Pa., the then Rev. (and since 
Hon.) George Landon was invited to deliver an ad- 
dress to the students and patrons of the seminary on 
" Education." In the course of his truly instructive 
and eloquent speech he sought to illustrate some 
point by the relation of the following unique and 
remarkable circumstance in the ministry of the great 
and good Dr. Robert Hall, of England. He said : 

"At the close of a funeral sermon, preached by 
Mr. Hall, the husband of the departed arose and de- 
livered an exhortation. A number of ministers pres- 
ent were invited by Mr. Hall to go with him to his 



284 Sermons and Eeminiscences. 

home for tea. Among them was one, quite young, 
who, after their arrival, said, ' Brother Hall, how did 
you like that old man's exhortation ? ' 

"Mr. Hall replied, 'That old gentleman and his 
wife have been members of my Church many years.' 

" ' But,' said the young minister, ' I inquired what 
you thought of his exhortation ? ' 

" Mr. Hall then said, ' I have been acquainted with 
him a long time, and think him to be a very good 
man.' 

" ' Why, Mr. Hall,' said the young minister, ' I 
wish you would tell me what you thought of his 
exhortation.' 

" ' I thought,' said Mr. Hall, ' that he was an or- 
dained fool, and that he has made his calling and 
election sure to-day.' " 

When Mr. Landon had finished his address many 
voices were heard calling for Professor Colt to speak. 
At length he arose, and with more playfulness than 
gravity in his countenance, simply excused himself 
by saying, " I have no disposition to prove myself 
an ordained fool, nor to make my calling and election 
sure." 

Of course he was excused, amid peals of laughter. 

The same Mr. Landon was once addressing a 
crowded congregation in a school-house at Brown- 
town on the subject of temperance. His rostrum 
was the floor, and his desk a rustic chair. He had 



Pleasantries and "Wit. 2S5 

not been long speaking before a very much intoxi> 
cated person rudely sought to enter. A number 
near the door arose, as if they would put him out ; 
but Mr. Landon at once remonstrated, bidding them 
conduct the gentleman forward that he might occupy 
the chair, adding, " When I used to lecture on Botany 
I wanted the blossoms right before me." 

Some thirteen years after the " North Branch 
Canal " had been constructing, and a year or more 
before its completion, a vast audience, assembled at a 
county fair near Towanda, were disappointed by the 
non-arrival of either Mr. Seymour or Mr. Greeley, 
who were to speak on the occasion. When this fact 
became generally known the shout went forth for 
" Landon." 

At length, yielding to the demands, he proceeded 
to address the people on "Internal Improvements," 
and at a most appropriate point in his speech mir- 
rored to the listening crowd the wonderful benefit 
coming to that portion of the State from the North 
Branch Canal, " providing one end does not rot off 
before the other is finished." 



QUACKS AND REGULARS. 

About forty years ago a graduate of one of the best 
medical colleges in the United States sought to es- 
tablish himself as a physician in a rural village in 



286 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

Western Xew York. There had preceded him by two 
or three years a " professional quack," who, by his prac- 
tical sense, had secured to himself an extensive and 
lucrative practice. Months passed away, and the 
young physician had but few calls. He refused to 
make the acquaintance of the quack, avoided meet- 
ing him, and chafed exceedingly at his popularity 
among the people. 

One Sabbath, just as the only congregation of wor- 
shipers in the place was coming from the church into 
the street these doctors met. The quack pleasantly 
accosted the other, but was met with, " Sir, I do not 
want any conversation with you." 

" Well," said the quack, u for your sake and the 
sake of a few others, I would like to ask you a 
question." 

" Ask it, then," was the short reply. 

" How many people do you think have come out 
of that church ? " 

" Possibly about four hundred ; but what of 
that?" 

" Well," said the quack, " how many of them are 
really well enough informed to be capable of judging 
between our relative merits as doctors ? " 

" It may be," said the young man, " not more than 
half of them." 

" Do you really think there are half ? " said the 
quack. 



Quacks and Regulars. 287 

" "Well, indeed," said the other, " it is possible no 
more than a fourth of them are." 

" But," said the quack, " you have the number still 
too high." 

" Well, how many do you think ? " said the young 
man. 

" I think there are only about one in ten, or forty 
out of the four hundred, and that you will pre- 
scribe for the forty and I for the three hundred and 
sixty." 

Let the reader draw his own lesson. 



REV. JOHN PARKER-HIS FRIENDSHIP FOR TEMPERANCE 
AND VENERATION FOR GODLINESS. 

The notice of the death of Rev. John Parker is not 
only a just tribute to the memory of an earnest, 
good man and minister, but is also suggestive of 
some traits of character which should always be rep- 
resented in the presiding eldership of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. He succeeded the Rev. A. N". 
Film ore in that office on the Elmira District, East 
Genesee Conference, in the fall of 1852. 

At that time the writer of this was appointed to 
the charge of the Jackson Circuit, in Tioga County, 
Pa., which embraced French Mills, Judson Hill, 
Rowley's and Wortendike's, in Wells Township, Brad- 
ford County. 



288 Sermoxs axd Reminiscences. 

The Sons of Temperance and the Good Templars 
were instituting divisions and lodges all through the 
county, and every minister and member of the dif- 
ferent churches was expected to stand out in his 
personality against intemperance. In our measure, 
and with a hearty good-will, we did so. This, how- 
ever, brought upon us the ill-will of at least two 
then prominent members of the official board, so that 
at the last Quarterly Conference of the year, when 
the presiding elder inquired as to the wishes of that 
body respecting my return another year, these breth- 
ren promptly opposed it. On inquiring into the 
cause of their opposition, it was substantially asserted 
that I had become connected with the " Sons of 
Temperance," and that I preached against intemper- 
ance and prayed against it every-where, and that I 
had time and again preached against Sabbath-break- 
ing, dishonesty in voting, and even against licentious- 
ness in all its forms. 

Thus, as they seemed to think, a very strong rea- 
son existed why I should be removed, whereupon 
Brother Parker said, " Are these things really true ? " 

" Yes, they are really true." 

"Well," said he, "I believe they are, and they, 
being true, constitute the best of reasons for his re- 
turn, and unless he utterly refuses, you may expect 
him for your pastor another year." 

We returned. The two official members referred 



Eev. John Pakkee. 289 

to at once withdrew from the church, (we could not 
give thern letters,) but subsequently reconsidered 
their action and were reinstated, both aiding the 
same year in the erection of the First Methodist 

Episcopal Church edifice of , Pa., in which God 

is still worshiped, and of which it may in truth be 
said, " This and that man was born there." 

Doubtless it was the ability and disposition of this 
honored servant of God in that and similar cases 
which has contributed much to the establishment and 
permanency of the Church of his choice wherever he 
was permitted to serve her. 

We first heard him preach in 1840, at Honeoye, 
!N~. Y. It was an expository discourse on " The rich 
man and Lazarus," at once instructive, attractive, and 
impressive. Then he had two brothers in the minis- 
try — Robert, older than himself, and Samuel, younger. 
Two of the once eloquent and powerful trio have 
crossed the billowy stream, and have been greeted on 
the other shore, while the younger, though aged now, 
waits for the arrival of the " time of his departure " 
at his quiet home in Hopewell, Ontario County, 

N. Y. " The memory of the just is blessed." 
19 



290 Sermons and Eeminiscences. 

THE HISTORY OF A WEEK. 

The morning of June 28, 1871, found me the guest 
of Dr. Bryan, in Ovid, IS". Y. 1 had spent the night 
in a most refreshing slumber, and, arising some time 
before the family, had held communion with lovely, 
voicy nature and its glorious Author, whom we call 
" Our Father." After a delicious breakfast and a 
season of worship, the doctor allowed me to ride 
with him some nine miles in a buggy, where I found 
a friend of other years, who kindly let me have his 
" family rig " to go to my home and return with it, 
to North Hector, in time for the evening boat for 
Watkins. The ride of ten miles to the latter place 
at this season of the year, and near the close of the 
day, is one of the most gratifying. The scenery of 
lake and shore, of wheat and grass-fields, intermin- 
gled with strips of woodland, " dark with heavy foli- 
age," and plats of grapes, now promising abundant 
fruitage, with here and there a glen and water-fall 
mingling with the ripple of the waters on the shore, 
all conspire to fill the hour with interest, and to leave 
mirrored on the halls of memory pictures of beauty 
and sources of joy. 

At "Watkins we took the cars for Elmira, where we 
arrived before dark. Called at the parsonage of the 
First Methodist Episcopal Church, but found the 
pastor, Rev. T. Tousey, gone to Lockport. Paused 



The History of a Week. 291 

a few moments to look at the deep, broad, and sub- 
stantial foundation of the new church edifice in pro- 
cess of building, and then passed on " over the river " 
to our dear good friend's, M. Y. Swan, and " tarried 
for a night." 

A glorious morning was the 29th to those who 
were up by four o'clock to enjoy it. An early 
breakfast gave us an opportunity to call on some 
dear friends on Ann Street, to write a couple of let- 
ters, and to be ready in good season to take the Le- 
high Yalley cars for Towanda, Pa. This is a new 
road, the northern terminus of which was Waverly ; 
but during the past year arrangements have been 
made with the Erie, by which, with the laying of an 
extra rail, it has gone to Elmira. I judge that the 
Erie gets remuneration in the use of the Lehigh Yal- 
ley road from Towanda to Waverly, over which her 
Barclay coal must come to the north. 

We arrived at Towanda about 1:30 A. M., and 
were not a little surprised at the increased dimen- 
sions of the place. Being generally recognized, 
though absent about four years, an hour or more 
was pleasantly spent in a number of " personal en- 
counters " with friends of the past, but of the never- 
to-be-forgotten. 

At 1:30 P. M. we found a comfortable way of get- 
ting to the Monroeton Camp-meeting, four miles dis- 
tant. Rev. O. L. Gibson, of Towanda, was in charge 



292 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

of the meeting, who, with his wife and four little 
children, were nicely quartered in a good tent, while 
their cow was hard by, in pasture, to furnish them 
with milk. A capital idea, I thought, and quite 
primitive too, if we read history aright. Here we 
had recently spent three years of our ministry, and 
the goodly number who had been brought into the 
Church while we were with them, and the many 
whose dead we had helped to bury, and the numbers 
whom we had joined in holy matrimony, rendered it 
a season of peculiar interest to me. The meeting 
was well attended, well conducted, and on the whole, 
I think as good and as great in its visible results as 
any that I have ever known. 

Brothers Hard, Bennett, and Bartle, of the pray- 
ing band, were present, and both received and com- 
municated great blessings — that is, they were the 
instruments of great good to others, and received 
great good to themselves. 

The meeting on the ground was closed Saturday 
afternoon, July 1, but I learned that the three breth- 
ren just mentioned were going to hold a meeting in 
Monroeton Borough in the evening, and that they 
would spend the Sabbath there. 

I arrived at Burlington about sunset Saturday 
evening, and stopped for the night with Brother 
Jacob Morley, who, with myself, hold the relation of 
grandfather to a fine little boy, now nearly four years 



The History of a Week. 293 

old. His mother, our third daughter, rests in the 
old church-yard, where the great, the good, and the 
brave lie sleeping side by side. But " the grave " is 
our debtor, and Heaven will coerce payment. "We 
wait with intense interest when there shall be given 
back to us our dead, but we wait in hope. 

Sabbath morning we went with the excellent 
young pastor and preacher, Brother Lowell, to West 
Burlington, and preached to the Hiltons, Rockwells, 
Black wells, Pratts, Foulkes, Dewitts, Stiles, etc. ; at 
two P. M. in the Jesse M'Kean District, and at even- 
ing in Burlington Borough. 

We took tea with Mr. W. D. Gam age and family, 
finding them, with the many other friends of former 
years, prosperous and happy. 

May God bless the Burlingtonian Methodists and 
friends, and give them very many to walk with them 
in the way to a glory-home ! 

Monday, July 3, we went to Troy. Saw Brother 
Wentz, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and the very excellent parsonage, which is being 
built under his supervision. Dined with the liberal 
Christian gentleman and merchant, G. 1ST. Kewbery; 
and taking tea with the rising artist, B. F. Beebe, left 
by the evening train for Canton. Here we stopped 
with Brother M. C. Dean, now in charge of this im- 
portant station, and where we commenced our itin- 
erant labors twenty-nine years ago. 



29-i Sermons and Reminiscences. 

On the 4th, by means of a horse and buggy, we 
ascended the Armenia mountain, and spent three or 
four hours along the beautiful Tioga, "thankful to 
Him who made the sun and us, and still protects us, 
and gives us flowers and showers, and stomachs and 
meat, and content and leisure to go a-fishing." 

A day in the woods with a friend and a brother is 
a rare luxury, and is keenly relished by every lover 
of nature. "While it relieves the brain it invigorates 
the heart, and soothes and sweetens the very soul. 
Another night with Brother D., and a breakfast of 
trout, and we left these scenes and associations of the 
long by-gone on the morning of the 5th, and arrived 
in the evening at our home — the new parsonage — at 
Logan. 



A RESPONSE. 



It is a rare accomplishment to so receive stranger 
guests as to give them a home feeling at once. Hav- 
ing on a former occasion heard a few utterances from 
the eloquent lips of him who so cordially welcomes 
us here to-day, I shall not be surprised to learn that 
all those on whose behalf I respond have already felt 
assured of a kind and generous entertainment ; an- 
ticipating this, allow me even now to thank you, sir, 
and, through you, all those you represent, for the 
greeting you and they have given us. 



A Response. 295 

We are here as fellow-workers in a field of vast 
extent, of wonderful possibilities, and of the richest 
and most enduring rewards. Our work is almost ex- 
clusively with minds and characters in a formative 
state, the beauty and complexion of which will be 
fixed for weal or woe by the competency or the in- 
competency of those who teach them. Hence the 
greatest care and wisdom should be exercised in the 
selection of teachers. It is doubtless true that 

" Mind lives again in mind, 
"We each on other set our seal." 

And thus it is of the utmost importance that the 
teaching and guiding of the young be given only to 
those who, by example, as well as by oral instruction, 
shall lead in the way to purity and peace. The lum- 
berman consigns not his boards or shingles to the 
sport of the brimming river, but places them in 
charge of skillful pilots and of able and obedient 
hands. The productions of other countries reach not 
our shores merely in sea-worthy vessels, but under 
the guidance of experienced and competent mariners. 
^Te place not our persons or our wares on lines of 
railroads or of steam-vessels where we know there is 
a lack of care and a want of responsibility, but rather 
on those where is believed to be the best of care and 
the greatest responsibility. Thus should it always be 
with those who have the difficult task of selecting or 



29G SEinroxs axd Reminiscences. 

appointing the teachers in our Sunday-schools. 
Great interests require great care and the very best 
attention, and, as the spiritual interests of children 
and youth transcend in importance all others, they 
should be confided only to those who will care and 
do for them the best. 

One of the chief solicitudes of all extensive tour- 
ists is the procuring of competent guides ; such se- 
cured, they go forth and tread the fertile plains and 
rugged mountains of distant lands, and, returning, 
bring pictures of the lovely, the beautiful, and the 
sublime infixed on their minds, which shall be a 
source of pleasure while life shall last. 

"Who that has followed Stephens, or Olin, or Dur- 
bin, or Taylor, or Livingstone, or Stanley, has not 
desired his safety and felt concern for him lest his 
guides should either be recreant or incompetent ? 

The subjects of Sunday-school instruction are tak- 
ing on their minds impressions and images of truths 
which they shall carry with them into an eternal 
state, and which they shall have to look at and 
contemplate for ever and ever. Shall they be beau- 
tiful or horrible ? Shall they be such as have the 
power to pierce the soul with pain, or to flood it 
with delight? Shall they have pictures of moral 
beauty thronging the galleries of their minds, or 
shall they have transferred to the halls of their 
souls scenes of nicjlit and deeds of darkness vile and 



A Eesponse. 297 

black with sin ? The interests at stake demand an 
answer ; but it is only from competent teachers that 
a truthful, practical answer may reasonably be ex- 
pected. Who, then, are competent teachers in a 
Sunday-school? I answer, only those who are 
taught of God, and who are earnestly seeking to 
know and do his will. Such, I think, are found 
proportionately in as great numbers now as in any 
former period of the history of the Sunday-school 
movement, but. the supply in this department has 
never been equal to the demand. It has been, and 
is still, a felt and pressing want ; for though it opens 
to the most intelligent and cultured mmds that are 
in the different churches doors of usefulness equal 
to any in the broad field of Church labor, and gives 
as large promise of reward and high .and honorable 
association and communion as any other ; but very 
few, comparatively, fully consecrate themselves to it. 
In my childhood years I remember that an earnest 
layman from the western part of Hector (then in this 
county) came into the eastern and organized a Sun- 
day-school. It was the first of which I ever had any 
knowledge. Some twenty-five years later I met that 
man as a minister of the Gospel. He told me that 
at the time he organized the school in our district he 
had sixteen schools under his supervision, and that 
he had them so arranged that he could visit all of 
them every month by being present at four every 



298 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

Sunday. He is still living, and in the active work 
of the ministry and of Sunday-school labors. God 
has greatly honored hiin, all earnest workers in other 
denominations respect and reverence him, and, in the 
person of his noble son and the numbers of others 
raised up through his " work of faith and labor of 
love," he is likely to continue his work for at least 
" a hundred years to come." 

* Lives of good men all remind us 
We may make our lives sublime." 



LITTLES, AND TO WHAT DO THEY GROW. 

On January 1, 1800, a little man, with a correspond- 
ingly little ax, began the removal of all the timber 
from six acres of land, upon which now stands the 
court-house, the various churches, the graded school 
buildings, and the many beautiful and costly places 
of business and residences, constituting the large and 
flourishing village of Bath, Steuben County, ~N. Y. 

We knew that man in 1848, '49 ; he then owned 
seven hundred acres of valuable farm and timber 
lands, and said to me on one occasion, "I cleared 
and fenced six hundred acres for other people before 
I did any thing for myself." 

In Burlington, Conn., on May 10, 1797, there was 
born to a pious mother a little, feeble babe, and until 
it had lived nearly two years, did any one who knew 



Littles, and to What do Tiiey Grow. 299 

it, but the devoted mother, think it possible that it 
would ever develop into a healthy child, much less 
attain to manhood. But about this time the child be- 
gan to show signs of a more vigorous life, and the 
mother added " Lent " to the name she had given 
him ; and of that little, feeble babe there came to be 
a lawyer, standing at the head of his profession in 
the great State of Ohio, and subsequently one of the 
most eloquent and distinguished Bishops in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church. 

Little by little the acquisitions in knowledge are 
obtained, and the difference between a Newton at 
ten and at seventy is prodigious indeed, yet the for- 
mer is as essential to the latter as is the acorn to the 
oak. 

Within the easy recollection of even youthful per- 
sons a little company of thoughtful, earnest young 
men organized what has already come to be the great 
and good and grand " Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation." 

" The International Committee of the United States 
and Canada report statistics for 1882 of 779 asso- 
ciations, of which 759 have an aggregate mem- 
bership of 72,372, and 69 own buildings valued at 
$4,700,473." 

How rapid a gathering of Christian forces and of 
consecrated material wealth ! How many young 
men, by these associations, have been led from the 



300 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

wrong to tlie right, inducted into tlie " ways of pleas- 
antness and the paths of peace," and are steadily ap- 
proaching the sublimest destiny known to human 
hopes and aspirations — a blissful immortality — none 
can tell. 

That first glass is a very little thing, viewed by 
itself, isolated and alone, but considered in its rela- 
tion to succeeding acts, traced in its influence on the 
steadily downward course of its subject until his self- 
respect is gone, and the pleadings of the dearest 
earthly relationships are disregarded ; then look 
upon him as he really seems to see serpents and 
devils in pursuit ; listen to his strange medley of 
imprecation and of prayer, the one as the other ut- 
terly unavailing, and believe, if you can, that the 
first glass, that little thing, has had nothing to do 
with his character, happiness, and destiny ! The 
sixty thousand who annually die as drunkards at one 
time in their history had only taken one glass each ; 
at another, a glass occasionally ; but these occasions 
fearfully, rapidly multiplied until there came to be 
no intermission. Habits make character, and char- 
acter makes destiny. Ay, what a destiny for sixty 
thousand souls! The heart sickens at the thought, 
and the brain is burdened at the contemplation of 
the untold misery experienced by the widows and 
children of these thousand of victims of rum. And 
still this work of death is going on. By day and by 



Littles, and to What do They Geow. 301 

night it is going on. "Week-days and Sabbath-day it 
is going on, and as surely and steadily in the homes 
of the rich as it is in the cottages and hovels of the 
poor. Its blight and mildew breath withers unto 
death the high and the low without distinction, and, 
blending their fondest, grandest hopes, buries these 
in a wreck of ruins. 

Let us then, Good Templars, be faithful to our 
vows ; and, renewing them, with every defection 
from our ranks, as well as with every addition to 
them, gird ourselves for the conflict, and be content 
to "labor and to wait" until far along our ranks 
shall be borne in glad acclaim the joyful tidings : 
The battle is ended, the license system is damned, as 
of right it should be, and total prohibition reigns 
supreme ! 

O God, give this all this, if not to us, unto our 
children and children's children forever, and they 
and we will praise thee. 



A PASTOR'S REMINISCENCE. 

Scarcely a day passes but that I am impressed with 
a sense of the value of your Daily to me and mine. 
Isolated somewhat as we are from scenes and asso- 
ciations, which for years were dear to us, its daily 
perusal keeps many of the names of loved ones fresh 
in our memory, and serves, in a good degree, as a 



302 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

reminder of events in which we shared some humble 
part in the years which have rolled away. 

But a few days ago we read in one of its pages an 
account of the sudden departure of Mrs. Dr. Gere, 
of Chemung, who was a neighbor and friend indeed 
for the two years we spent in that pleasant little 
hamlet ; and now, to-day, it brings to us the sad in- 
telligence of the death of the truly noble and manly 
David Everitt, whom we knew in early manhood, 
and whom we had both the pleasure and honor of 
joining in holy matrimony, as we also did one of his 
brothers and two of his sisters. 

" Uncle Billy" and " Aunt Laura " Everitt, with 
their six sons and six daughters, in the then new and 
well-furnished house, constituted a scene of domestic 
happiness and thrift seldom met with, and never 
surpassed by any I have known during an itinerant 
ministry of thirty-eight years. 

In the summer of 1839 three sisters, the children 
of Mr. Jacob Larrison, were among my pupils at 
Daggett's Mills, Pa. I married, in 1854, I think, 
the oldest, Naomi, and Mr. Edward Everitt ; and in 
1855 the youngest, Annie, and Mr. David Everitt. 
May the invisible Comforter be with her and her 
children, and abounding grace and infinite consola- 
tion come to the aged and maimed mother ! 



Uncle Peter and Aunt Patty. 303 

UNCLE PETER AND AUNT PATTY. 

I find myself living in a neat and comfortable house, 
purchased a few years ago by the trustees of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church at Sheldrake with funds, for 
the most part, left them by the last will and testament 
of Mrs. Peter Sherman. Mr. Sherman and his wife 
were among the first settlers in this truly picturesque 
and beautiful place, where they long lived, and were 
familiarly called "Uncle Peter" and "Aunt Patty." 
They reared no children of their own, but a number 
of adopted ones, and as he was brother to my mater- 
nal grandmother, I have been not a little interested 
in the various incidents related to me by some of 
their neighbors. They were among the first con- 
verts to Methodism in this region, and their house 
was regarded as the home of the early itinerants, who 
had the toil and the honor of first seeking to " spread 
scriptural holiness " " between the lakes." It was in 
their dwelling that nearly all the public and social 
religious services were held for many years. There, 
also, at different times, the erring and the sinning 
were the subjects of influences and impressions 
which helped them to higher resolves, and to purer, 
better lives. 

Mrs. J. J. Covert informs me that for forty years 
a "Wednesday evening prayer-meeting was sustained 
by that devoted family without a single omission. 



304 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

If storms or other liinderances prevented neighbors 
from attending there, successors of " Zacharias and 
Elisabeth," with their " household," had their season 
of praise and prayer. Frequently their largest and 
best room would be crowded with attendants, and, as 
"Aunt Patty" was a model of neatness, " Uncle Pe- 
ter " w T ould occasionally say to the comers, " Leave 
your quids of tobacco out-of-doors, and if you feel 
that you must keep your mouths in motion, we will 
give you bread and butter." 

Of course, every one put himself on his good be- 
havior ; and these meetings are spoken of and re- 
membered by the few survivors as having been 
among the brightest spots in their past history. 

This saintly couple lived to a good old age : " Un- 
cle Peter" until he was eighty-six years one month 
and seventeen days ; " Aunt Patty " until she was 
eighty-six years and twenty-five days : the former 
dying October 14, 1848 ; the latter, November 23, 
1849. Their bodies rest side by side in the beautiful 
cemetery, made of grounds forming the south-west 
corner of their long-cultivated homestead, and from 
which the eye sweeps the broadest portion of the 
Cayuga. 

"In age and feebleness extreme" "Uncle Peter" 
became a great care, having lost the power to recog- 
nize his nearest, dearest friends ; even the wife of his 
youth, the companion of so many years, was forgot- 



Uncle Peter and Aunt Patty. 305 

ten ; and even those who performed, almost hourly, 
offices of kindness, passing into another room and 
returning, would not be remembered ; and yet the 
mention of the name of his Saviour and Lord would 
at once awaken his soul to joy, and call forth most 
fervent and appropriate expressions of thanks and 
praise. 

The dwelling in which these lived so long and 
well was a frame, made of sills and plates, posts and 
beams and rafters. There were ten bents. These 
were something more than three feet apart, and the 
spaces between the siding and the ceiling and the 
bents were filled with twigs and with mortar made 
of common earth. Within the last three months this 
primitive structure has been taken down to give 
place to a modern carriage-house ; and as I passed 
the spot to-day, and looked at portions of that hon- 
ored habitation, I thought how rapidly are all the 
ancient landmarks disappearing, and how soon the 
time will come when but a very few will remember 
that we have ever lived. 

" "lis immortality, 'tis that alone, 
Amid life's pains, abasements, emptiness, 
The soul can comfort, elevate, and fill." 
20 



306 Sekmons and Keminiscences. 

METHODIST PARSONAGES AND BEAUTIFUL HOMES. 

Among the many objects of loveliness to which my 
mind has turned of late, and which have drawn forth 
expressions of gratitude from my very heart, are the 
places of residence which the Church has provided 
for me and mine. 

I have just entered upon the fortieth year in the 
itinerancy, and in recalling about half that number 
of charges to which I have been appointed, I can 
only remember two that were not really desirable 
places of abode. Fourteen of these were parsonages 
belonging to their respective charges, and, with 
scarcely an exception, they had been wisely located, 
conveniently constructed, quite comfortably fur- 
nished, and kept in good repair. 

In all of them we have had a home with those to 
love us and to be loved in return, where the dearest 
and holiest relations have been held, and the deepest, 
purest affections have been brought to birth and 
nourished into undying friendships and hopes of 
endless unions and communions in the life and home 
eternal. Ministrations of sufferings have also been 
endured in some of these which have disciplined 
souls into the sublimest of victors, and bringing to 
them baptisms of blessings which have made them 
to shout at the noise of the wings of death's angel, 
and to sing for joy on being told that the hour of 



Methodist Parsonages and Homes. 307 

departure drew nigh. The externals of some of 
these homes have not been particularly attractive ; no 
especial pains had been taken to make them so ; but 
internally other tastes and skill had been employed, 
and order and cleanliness and the charm of intelli- 
gent housewifery made every thing beautiful and 
go'od and to be thankfully remembered. True, none 
of them were perfection in all respects, and we could 
have found fault with the best of them, for it re- 
quires little genius and less grace to do so about any 
thing ; but having in some way gotten the impression 
that homes, like villages and cities, are what their 
respective inhabitants make them, we have sought to 
make ours, wherever it has providentially been, pleas- 
ant and cheerful and good and happy, demonstrating 
to those with whom we have become acquainted that 
an itinerant ministry need not of necessity be one of 
constant complaining, and, therefore, destructive in its 
influence of the good it is intended to accomplish. 

Few men in the pastorates of the evangelical 
churches of this land have more permanent homes 
than those of Methodism, while the changes, for the 
most part, in those of other churches are often ab- 
rupt, unexpected, and very frequently affecting the 
good name and influence of pastors as well as of the 
churches for years, if not for all their future history. 
Hence I have come to distrust the good sense and 
grace of some dear brethren in our ministry who, on 



308 Sermons and Reminiscences. 

being removed at the end of their first or second 
year on a charge, are anxious to know all the reasons 
for these things, and, not being able to get them all, 
question the action in their respective cases, and, in- 
stead of being thankful that the Church has provided 
them with any place to preach such a " glorious Gos- 
pel," make themselves and families and people un- 
comfortable and ill at ease while their relation con- 
tinues. 

Now this has been transpiring in our Church ever 
since its organization, and yet a listener to some of 
these complainers might come to the conclusion that 
these circumstances were " brand-new " things in 
Methodist economy and usage. In Methodism cer- 
tain rights and privileges have always been relin- 
quished, both by the ministry and the laity, for the 
general good ; and if it continues to bless the masses 
as it has in the past, both will have to submit, prayer- 
fully and thankfully, to the yielding of personal pref- 
erences, and accept occasional disappointments ; and 
the homes of Methodist ministers must be the places 
in which lessons of submission are taught and prac- 
ticed. 

THE END. 










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